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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4303 


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.^ 


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illustrent  la  mithode. 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

M. 


TALES 


OF    THE 


NIAGARA  FRONTIER. 


PAST  II. 


FORT  NIAGARA. 


•* 


w 


« 


»  ^* 


1\ 


FORT  NIAGARA, 


A  TALE 


OF  THE 


-*- 


NIAGARA  FRONTIER. 


BUFFALO. 
Steele's-  press 

1845. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1845,  by 

OLIVER  G.   STEELE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


NOTE. 


The  series  of  little  books  proposed  to  be  pub- 
lished  under  the  general  title  of  ♦*Tales  op  the 
Niagara  Frontier,"  are  intended  to  illustrate 
some  portions  of  the   History  of  the    War  of 
1812.     Accurate  dates  and  descriptions  of  places 
will  be  given,  though  not  with  very  minute  detail; 
and  the  names  of  officers  who  took  part  in  the 
scenes  described,  and  the  events  with  which  they 
were  connected,  will   be  stated,   so  far  as  the 
writer  may  be  able   to  do   so, '  with   historical 
accuracy.     In  other  respects,  the  stories  may  be 
regarded  as  fictions. 


^% 


.m 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Niagara  River,  or  the  Strait  that  connects 
Lake  Erie  with  Lake  Ontario,  being  the  only  out- 
let for  the  greatest  chain  of  inland  waters  in  the 
world,  ^h'lch  are  there  poured  over  the  great  Cat- 
aract, and   forming  the  boundary  between   the 
United  States  and  Canada,  has  been  the  scene  of 
many  interesting  historical  events.     Courage  as 
true  and  devoted  has  there  been  exhibited,  as  that 
of  the  Spaftans  at  the   pass  of  Thermopylae. 
Its  waters  have  been  made  red  by  the  blood  of 
brave  men  who  died  in  their  str.  Tgies  for  the  lib- 
erty and  the  rights  which  had  been  denied  them. 
On  its  banks  many  a  spot  has  been  made  holy  by 
the  burial  of  a  soldier.     It  is  classic  ground;  and 
in  future  ages  there  will  be  the  shrines  where  pil- 
grims will  come  to  worship  the  memory  of  heroes. 
Time  as  well  as  blood  is  necessary  to  consecrate 
the   battle  field.     Little   is   now  thought  of  the 


VIII 


INTRODUCTION. 


places  where  these  scenes  occurred  because  their 
history  is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all  except  the 
young.  To  them  it  is  hoped  this  little  book  will 
be  an  acceptable  offering.  But  the  time  will  come 
when  this  river,  through  its  whole  length,  which 
is  about  thirty  five  miles,  will  reflect  from  its  wa- 
ters the  images  of  many  beautiful  mansions  that 
will  be  erected  on  its  banks.  Thousands  of  years 
hence  it  will  be  the  task  of  the  school  boy,  in  the 
study  of  the  antiquities  of  his  Country,  to  learn 
the  deeds  of  arms  that  have  been  wrought  there. 
History  and  Poetry  will  vie  with  each  other  in  the 
relations  of  fact  and  the  creations  of  fancy.  But 
romance  will  be  excelled  by  reality.  The  Niaga- 
ra will,  to  future  agesf  call  to  mind  the  heroic  in 
history,  as  the  Hellespont  now  does  to  us;  and, 
as  at  the  chosen  spots  of  the  old  world,  patriotism 
will  burn  with  a  brighter  glow  at  the  mention  of 
its  name.  The  loves  of  Hero  and  Leander,  im- 
mortalized by  the  Grecian  bard,  and  tales  of  war 
by  sea  and  land  will  be  matched  by  stories  of  the 
Niagara. 


FORT  NIAGARA 


Jk0^r->,f^^-^ 


CHAPTER  I. 


DESCRIPTION. 


It  will  be  remembered,   by  those  at  least 
who  have  read  the  story  of  Queenston,  that 
it  was  determined  by  Harry  and  the  Captain, 
that  their  next  visit  should  be  to  Fort  Niaga- 
ra.   After  a  few  days  of  rest  they  prepared  to 
carry  their  resolution  into  effect.     The  Cap- 
tain and   his  young  friend   Harry  were  to 
have  no  other  company,  Charles  having  de- 
termined not  to  go  on  a  second  expediton. 
They  had  started  in  the  morning  of  a  beau- 
tiful October  day,  and  travelled  as  far  as 
Lewiston,  where  they  determined   to  stay 
over  night.     The  next  mormng  as  the  sun 
was  flinging  his  grateful  rays  from  a  moder- 
ate elevation  in  the  heavens,  they  were  on 
thier  way.     Their  path  lay  along  the  bank 
of  the  Niagara,  the  road  there  b 


*%; 


jOinrr     tTCkvxr 
' ii       T  v^i   y 


10 


DESCRIPTION. 


near  to  the  shore.  As  they  were  walking 
along  their  shadows  reached  quite  over  the 
precipitous  bank,  and  would  have  been  seen 
in  the  river  itself,  but  that  the  sun  had  not 
yet  fallen  on  that  part  of  it  near  the  shore. 

^'Early  rising  makes  long  shadows,"  said 
the  Captsin. 

''And  long  days  too,"  said  Harry. 

*'But  the  longer  the  days  the  shorter  the 
shadow,  •  said  the  Captain.  "In  summer  the 
days  are  longer  than  in  winter,  and  the  sun 
being  higher  in  the  heavens  does  not  cast  so 
long  a  shadow  from  any  object  standing  in  a 
perpendicular  position,  as  would  be  made  by 
the  same  object  in  winter  when  the  sun  is 
lower.  This  would  only  be  the  case  at  or 
near  noon;  in  the  morning  it  would  make  no 
difference." 

Harry  was  amused  by  this  pleasantry,  and 
the  Captain  continued: 

''There  has  been  much  hard  fighting,"  said 
he,  "on  the  banks  of  this  river,  before  this 
hour  in  the  morning.  Men  have  here,  not 
only  in  the  morning  of  tho  day,  but  in  the 
morning  of  their  lives  acquired  a  fame  that 
will  never  die.     The  lives  of  such  men  are 


DESCRIPTION.  11 

lengthened  by  their  success  in  eariy  life  as 
the  days  are  by  early  rising.  I  shall  tell  you 
before  I  get  through  with  this  expedition, 
how  victories  have  been  lost  and  won  before 
day-hght;  and  how  watchfulness  and  care 
have  triumphed  over  neglect  and  inaction  " 

The  Niagara  river,  which,  above  the  great 
Cataract,  is  from  a  mile  to  a  mi!-  and  a  half 
wide,  below  the  falls,  as  far  down  as  Lewis- 
ton,  IS  confined  by  the  the  high  rocky  banks 
to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  less  in  width.     The 
current  too  is  very  swift,  and  sometimes  in- 
terrupted by  whirlpools  and  raoids.     Below 
Lewiston  the  high  banks  disappear,  the  stream 
gradually  widens,  and  the  current  becomes 
more  smooth.    At  the  point  where  our  trav- 
ellers were  now  viewing  it,  it  was  flow- 
ing on  with  a  movement  so  quiet  and  equal 
that  one  in  gazing  upon  it  would  almost  for- 
get it  had  any  motion.     The  bank  on  the  op- 
posite  side  was  distinctly  to  be  seen,  with 
here  and  there  a  solitary  looking  house  upon 
he  margin  of  the  river,  and  occasionally  a 
tree  bending  over  as  if  to  see  its  own  shadow 
■fl  the  water.    As  they  were  thus  moving 
,       j^  ,siQ^  fieji^^^  ^^jg  g^yj^^  ^j  approach- 


MrfT 


12 


DESCRIPTION. 


I 


ing  wheels  behind  them.  They  looked  back 
and  saw  a  man  leisurely  jogging  along  in 
a  lumber  wagon.  Harry  and  the  Captain 
stepped  aside  to  let  him  pass.  At  this  mo- 
ment the  jog  of  the  horses  dropped  into  a 
slow  walk.  The  morning  salutation  of  the 
traveller,  was  answered  by  the  Captain.  As 
they  appeared  to  be  going  the  same  way 
they  were  invited  to  ride.  The  offer  would 
have  been  declined,  but  our  travellers  were 
glad  of  an  opportunity  to  converse  with  any 
one  they  happened  to  meet. 

The  Captain  and  Harry  were  soon  seated 
in  the  wagon,  and  as  they  went  lumbering 
along  they  tried  to  draw  the  traveller  into 
conversation  with  them. 

''We  are  coming  now  to  a  place,"  said  the 
Captain,  "where  there  has  been  some  hard 
fighting.  A  little  ahead  is  the  spot  where 
the  British  Hnded  on  the  morning  of  the  19th 
of  December   1813,   when    they  surprised 

Fort  Niagara." 

"I  knew,"  said  the  Wagoner,  "that  the 
fort  down  here  was  once  taken  by  the  Bri- 
tish, but  I  never  knew  before  the  place  where 
they  laauuu. 


DESCRIPTION. 


13 


d  back 
ong  in 
Captain 
lis  mo- 
into  a 
of  the 
n.  As 
le  way 
'  would 
:s  were 
ith  any 

« 

1  seated 
nbering 
el*  into 

said  the 
ne  hard 
;  where 
the  19th 
arprised 

hat  the 
the  Bri- 
e  where 


"You  are  acquainted  in  these  parts,"  said 
the  Captain. 

•Tes,"  said  the  wagoner;  ^  I  hve  a  few 
miles  below  the  fort  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 
I  removed  to  that  place  soon  after  the  close 
of  the  war.  I  have  travelled  this  road  often, 
but  I  never  knew  much  about  the  battles 
that  took  place  here." 

The  Captain  saw  that,  though  his  fellow- 
traveller  had  lived  for  many  years  almost 
within  sight  of  the  fortress,  nothing  was  to 
be  learned  from  him.  He  scarcely  had  pos- 
session of  a  single  fact  in  relation  to  it.  All 
that  he  knew  was  through  the  indistinctness 
of  tradition. 

They  however  soon  came  to  a  road  that 
turned  off  to  the  right,  and  here  they  parted 
company,  the  wagoner  pursuing   the  road 
in  the  direction  of  his  home,  and  Harry  and 
the  Captain  keeping  the  path  that  lay  upon 
the  bank  of  the  river.     After  passing  the  lit- 
tle village  of  Youngstown,  a  few  minutes 
brought  them  within  sight  of  the  fort.     The 
first  object  they  saw  was  the  dome  of  the 
lighthouse  erected  upon  the  top  of  an  old 
&ionu  wuuuiii^  mm  jorms  a  part  of  the   for- 
tress, o 


14 


:.|^ 


DESCRIPTION. 


!Hi 


It  must  be  remembered  that  the  period  of 
the  Captain^s  visit  was  some  years  ago,  and 
that  his  description  of  the  fortifications  may 
not  correspond  with  their  present  appear- 
ance. The  farms  upon  the  road  leading  to 
the  fort  were  then  not  quite  so  much  im- 
proved as  they  now  are;  and  the  fort  itself 
may  have  experience.d  a  similar  change. 

They  soon  stood  within  the  limits  of  the 
fortress.  As  they  entered,  Harry  took  a 
rapid  survey  of  the  most  striking  objects 
that  met  his  view.  Two  or  three  compa- 
nies of  American  soldiers  were  stationed 
there,  and  the  sentry  was  marching  to  and 
fro  at  the  entrance  to  the  fort.  Every  thing 
within  bore  the  appearance  of  neatness.  A 
glance  was  sufficient  to  see  the  long  guns 
ranged  in  rows,  some  in  a  positon  that  they 
could  be  made  to  bear  upon  the  fort  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  if  necessary,  and 
others  were  disposed  without  any  reference 
to  such  use  being  required  of  them.  Near 
the  centre  of  the  area  within  the  enclosure, 
was  a  large  pile  of  cannon-sho^,  painted  black 
and  laid  up  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 

After  Harry  had  taken  the  first  view,  the 


of  the 
took  a 
objects 
compa- 
ationed 
to  and 
y  thing 
iss.  A 
g  guns 
It  they 
on  the 
-y,  and 
ference 
Near 
closure, 
d  black 

5W,  the 


DESCRIPTION.  25 

Captain  proceeded  to  describe  the  works  to 
him. 

"You  will  see,"  said  he,  "that  the  fort 
stands  ,„  the  angle,  made  by  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river,  and  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario.  It  is  laid  out  in  the  form  of  a 
triangle,  one  side  of  which  commands  the 
river  and  Fort  George  on  the  opposite  side, 
another  faces  the  lake,  and  the  third  is  to 
delend  the  plain  in  the  rear." 

Towards  the  water  it  is  stockaded  or  en- 
closed with  a  row  of  sharpened  posts  set  in 
the  ground,  and  within  the  stockade  on  the 
river  side,  there  is  a  large  mound  of  earth 
at  the  top  of  which  are  embrasures  or  open- 
ings for  guns,  and  on  the  side  facing  the  lake 
within  the  stockade,  stands  a  large  fortified 
stone  house,  on  the  top  of  which  is  the  light- 
house, they  had  seen  before  entering  the  fort- 
and  on  the  land  side  it  is  secured  by  embank- 
ments of  earth  which  will  be  more  particu- 
larly described  hereafter. 

The  site  on  which  the  fort  is  built,  is 
elevated  considerably  above  the  river  and 
lake,  and  commands  a  fine  prospect.  From 
the   hght-houge   the  view  of  those   waters 


16 


DESCRIPTION. 


hi 


■  I 


m 


and  the  country  on  both  sides  is  only  limited 
by  the  power  of  the  human  eye. 

While  the  Captain  was  calling  the  attention 
of  Harry  to  these  general  appearances  of  the 
fortress,  they  were  met  by  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  garrison.  The  Colonel  had 
been  there  for  several  years  and  was  well 
known  to  most  of  the  inhabitants  for  some 
miles  around;  but  it  had  never  before  been 
the  fortune  of  the  Captain  to  see  him.  The 
hand  and  heart  of  the  soldier  are  always 
accessible  to  strangers,  and  well  the  Captain 
knew  how  to  meet  him.  No  one  who  had 
heard  the  sound,  and  seen  the  flash  of  arms 
on  this  frontier,  much  less  one  who  had 
sprinkled  the  battle-field  with  his  blood,  need- 
ed to  have  been  a  stranger  to  the  Colonel. 
The  Captain  explained  the  object  of  his  visit, 
and  presented  to  him  his  young  friend  Harry. 
He  took  him  warmly  by  the  hand,  and  Har- 
ry now  felt  that  he  too  was  an  acquaintance. 

The  Colonel  led  the  way  to  the  old  stone 
house,  in  a  part  of  which  he  lived  with  his 
family,  and  was  followed  by  Harry  and  the 
Captain.  The  house  bore  the  marks  of  time, 
both  in  the  style  of  the  architecture,  m^  the 


DESCRIPTION. 


17 


appearance   of  the   walls.     A  green   moss 
seemed  to  be  creeping  over  the  overhanging 
eaves,  and  inserting  its  roots  into  the  chinks 
between  the  rough  stones  of  which  it  was 
built.     There  was  an  open  portico  in  front, 
and  a  balcony  which  was  accessible  from  the 
second  story.     Upon  the  rough  lattice  work 
were  some  climbing  vines,  whose  leaves  had 
been  withered  by  the  approach  of  autumn. 
In  the  sultry  heat  of  summer,  it  must  have 
been  a  shady  and  pleasant  retreat.     They 
entered  the  house. 

''Let  us  go  up  and  take  a  look  from  the 
top,"  said  the  Colonel. 

They  all  ascended  the  old  oaken  stairs, 
every  step  of  which  was  deeply  worn.  The 
foot^tegs  of  thousands  had  been  there  before 
them.  Many  years  had  passed  away  since 
the  building  was  erected.  They  were  at  the 
top  and  stood  upon  a  small  platform.  The 
roof  also  bore  the  marks  of  age.  The  shin- 
gles were  cemented  together  by  moss,  telling, 
like  the  gray  hairs  of  man,  of  the  age  of  the 
head  it  covered. 

''There,"  said  the  Colonel,  addressing  him- 
self to  Harry,  and  pointing  across  the  river, 

2=^ 


18 


DESCRIPTION. 


**is  fort  Mississaga.  A  little  above  is  the  site 
of  old  Fort  George.  You  see  near  by  it  the 
town  of  Newark,  which  was  burnt  by  the 
Americans  on  the  10th  of  December  1813. 
This  town  is  now  generally  called  Niagara. 
It  was  once  called  Lennox,  and  afterwards 
Nassau,  but  Newark  was  the  name  given  to 
it  by  parliament.  Across  the  lake  in  this  di- 
rection,'* said  he,  pointing  his  finger,  *'is  the 
City  of  Toronto,  the  capital  of  Upper  Cana- 
da. To  the  west  at  the  head  of  the  lake  is 
Burlington  bay,  and  Burlington  heights.  To 
the  east  the  view  is  divided  between  the  wa- 
ters of  the  lake  and  the  woods  upon  the 
banks,  while  to  the  south  is  to  be  seen  the  cul- 
tivated fields  of  the  farmer,  who  has  disputed 
and  overcome  the  dominion  of  the  forest,  and 
the  Niagara,  flowing  like  a  stream  of  light, 
between  the  territory  of  a  monarchy  and  a 
free  republic." 

Their  eyes  had  taken  m  the  whole  circuit 
of  the  horizon,  and  they  now  descended  the 
stairs,  and  walked  out  to  view  the  grounds. 
The  Colonel  kindly  took  it  upon  himself  to 
go  about  with  them,  and  explain  to  Harry 
everv   thins^   that    he   did    not   understand. 


i 


i 


DESCRIPTION.  19 

They  went  first  to  the  northwestern  ande  of 
the  fort.     There  Harry  saw  upon  a  platform 
a  large  cannon  pointing  its  mouth  across  the 
river.     It  was  mounted  upon  a  large  pair  of 
wheels  so  that  it  could  be  moved  backward 
and  forward.     In  front  of  the  platform  on 
which  It  stood  was  an  opening  in  the  embank- 
ment, through  which  it  could  be  pointed  if  it 
should  be  necessary  to  fire  it.     This  opening 
IS  called  an  embrasure. 
^^  ^'If  we  wanted  to  load  it,''  said  the  Captain, 
'^it  would  stand  where  it  now  does;  but  if  it 
were  loaded,  and  we  wanted  to  fire  it,  we 
should  run  it  forward  on  the  wheels,  so  'that 
It  would   point   through   the   opening;    and 
when  it  is  drawn  back  again  to  be  loaded  for 
another  fire,  the  men  who  have  charge  of  it, 
are  in  a  great  degree  protected  by  the  bank 
from  the  shots  of  the  enemy.     They  follow- 
ed along  this  bank  or  mound,  which  was  near 
the  bank  of  the  river.     There  were  several 
openings  in  it,  and  at  each  one  was  a  plat- 
form, and  a  cannon  upon  it  like  the  first  they 
had  seen.     These  guns  were  to  protect  the 
side  of  the  fort  next  to  the  river,  from  attacks 

that  miffht  hp  mqdp  n*>^«  :*  i i-         ^ 

o .s.ctut;  u^xju  ii  uy  sn^ps  of  war 


20 


DESCRIPTION. 


l!    I 


iliii 


as  well  as  to  prevent  them  from  entering  the 
river.  They  are  also  used  when  an  attack 
is  to  be  made  on  fort  George,  on  the  opposite 
side,  as  you  will  learn  before  you  get  a  full 
history  of  the  place." 

Harry  was  pleased  with  the  explanations 
of  the  Colonel,  and  he  manifested  his  delight 
by  the  attention  with  which  he  listened. 

They  had  now  come  to  the  southern  angle 
of  the  fort.  Here  was  an  opening  left  be- 
tween the  walls  for  a  gateway  or  passage 
through  which  to  enter  it,  and  a  block-house 
to  defend  the  passage.  On  the  east  or  land- 
side  were  several  batteries  and  redoubts,  be- 
tween which,  and  extending  from  one  to  the 
other,  were  trenches  and  banks  of  earth. 
There  were  also  several  gateways,  and  at 
each  of  them,  and  in  different '  parts  of  the 
fort,  there  were  strong  block-houses,  and 
ranges  of  low  buildings  used  as  barracks 
for  the  soldiers.  The  Colonel  here  pointed 
out  the  passage  where  the  British  army  en- 
tered, when  the  fort  was  taken  from  the 
French  in  1759.  On  the  north  side,  facing 
the  lake,  was  a  strong  block-house,  and  be- 


DKSCRIPTIOX.  21 

tween  that  and  the  river,  on  the  same  side, 
wa    the  old  stone  house  before  described 

net,  t  T  '"■""«'•"  ^'''''^"^-     On  the  side 
nex    to  the  nver,  the  building  showed  the 

marks  of  many  a  cannon-shot  that  had  been 
thrown  from  Fort  George. 

They  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  fort 
and  taken  a  general  view  of  it.  It  was  time 
to  examine  it  a  little  more  in  detail.  The 
lort  and  outwarks  occupy  about  five  acres  of 
ground.  A  garrison  of  about  five  hundred 
men  and  thirty  or  forty  pieces  of  artillery 
would  be  necessary  to  defend  it  in  case  of 
an  attack. 

In  one  part  of  the  ground  were  a  number 
ot  cannons  mounted  on  wheels  and  ready  for 
use,  but,  as  it  was  now  a  time  of  peace,  thev 
were  placed  under  a  temporary  covering  to 
protect  them  from  the  weather.     In  another 
place  were  many  large  guns,  which  were 
not  mounted.     They  had  been  covered  with 
a  coat  of  black  paint,  to  prevent  them  from 
rusting,  and  each  had  a  wooden  plug  inserted 
m  the  muzzle  to  keep  out  the  dirt  or  water. 

The  Colonel  pointed  out  to  Harry  and  the 
Oaptam  the  secret  passages  which  led  down 


*i2 


DESCRIPTION. 


•t' 


.;:,llil 


to  the  lake  and  the  'iver,  to  which  they  might 
be  Mifrpil  to  resort  lor  waiter  in  time  of  a 
seige  or  an  attack.  He  also  explained  to 
Harry,  how  the  different  parts  of  the  fort 
were  defended,  and  showed  him  the  maga- 
zine where  the  powder  is  kept,  and  explained 
to  him  how  it  was  protected  from  being  ex- 
ploded by  the  hot  shot  thrown  by  the  enemy. 

'We  can  look  round  quietly  now,"  said 
the  Captain;  "but  there  have  been  stirring 
times  here.  When  every  minute  brings  with 
it  a  hot  shot  from  Fort  George,  it  is  a  time 
to  try  one's  courage.  Every  man  then  has 
a  duty  to  perform,  and  every  one  knows  that 
some  one  will  meet  death;  and  all  resolve 
that  if  it  must  come  they  will  meet  it  as 
they  meet  the  enemy,  face  to  face." 

Th'  y  had  now  finished  the  survey  of  the 
grounds,  and  they  returned  to  the  hous^. 
When  they  had  entered,  the  Colonel  presen- 
ted them  to  his  wife  and  daughter.  .  Here 
was  a  new  source  of  pleasure  opened  to  them. 
The  fiei  's  of  danger  and  the  profession  of 
arms  aru  vs-  >  \at^out  their  charms.  Woman 
with  her  i:>v  r  id  befi*  l:y  is  always  found  in 
the  path  of  the  soldier,  rugged,  and  bloody 


UESCnil'T/O.V. 


'■in 


too,  ^  U  sometimes  is.  A.id  the  soldier,  lie, 
l.ke  tRo  faithful  knight  in  the  best  days  of 
chivalry,  ,s  always  her  guardian  and  protec- 

Tho  Captain  was  social  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, but  Harry  was  for  the  most  part  silent. 

TT  '  r.'  !'''"'''"^'  °^  '"'  '"°t*'°'-  »nd  sisters. 
He  had  been  a  long  time  away  from  them 

and  they  were  separated  by  a  distance  of 
several  hundred  miles.     And  then  he  thou-ht 
of  those  less  distant  from  him,  his  cousfns, 
Alice   and  Lucy  Gray.     He   was   already 
thmking  of  the  pleasure  of  telling  them  some 
ot  tae  stories  he  had  heard  of  Fort  Niagara 
But  this  thought  could  not  now  rest  in  his 
mind.     They  had  only  taken  a  look  at  the 
place  as   it  was  at  the  time  of  their  visit 
They  had  not  yet  begun  to  review  its  histo- 
ry.    He  was  yet  to  learn  the  story  of  its 
buildmg  by  the  French,  and  of  its  capture  by 
the  English;  how  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Americans,  and  then  the  various  scenes 
presented  by  the  attack,    the  repulse;   the 
surprise  and  the  massacre.     As  yet  he  had 
heard  nothing  that  might  not  be  listened  to 
With  some  degree  of  cnlrpnp...      n...  „  ._i. 
Of  terror  and  of  blood  was  yet  to  come. 


!    ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

ANCIENT  HISTORY. 

While  they  were  sitting  in  the  house,  tlio 
Colonel  remarked  to  the  Captain,  that  there 
were  some  scraps  of  history  connected  with 
the  place  that  were  very  interesting,  and,  if 
it  were  not  for  interfering  with  his  arrange- 
ments for  entertaining  his  young  friend  Har- 
ry, he  would  relate  them. 

The  Captain  turned  to  Harry  with  an  in- 
quiring look,  and  said  that  he  thought  he 
would  be  amused  as  well  as  instructed  by 
hearing  them.  Harry  readily  entered  into 
the  views  of  the  Captain,  and  the  Colonel 
proceeded : 

''A  thought  struck  me  a  short  time  ago," 
said  he,  ''that  it  would  be  interesting  to  know 
when  this  point  was  first  taken  possession  of 
by  white  men.  There  was  a  time  I  knew 
when  the  whole  country  was  in  the  exclusive 
possession  of  the  Indians.     Then  the  river 


' 


ANCIENT   IIISTOIIY. 


25 


5) 


bark  canoe    and  tho  forests  had  never  heard 
he  sound  of  the  axe.    I  undertook,  as  far  as 
1  was  ab  e,  to  find  out  from  history  the  pro- 
gress of  discovery  and  improvement  here." 

Much  of  that  history,"  said  the  Captain, 
'I  should  think  would  be  found  onlv  in  the 
traditions  of  the  natives." 
"There  is  some  written  history,"  said  the 

^a„  the  year  1678.  On  the  18th  day  of 
November  m  that  year  the  Cavalier  De  La 
Salle,  who,  under  the  patronage  of  the  king 
of  France,  had  undertaken  to  explore  the 
country  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  gull'  of 
Mexico,  left  Fort  Frontenac,  now  Kingston, 

Wh  a  vesse    of  forty  tons  for  this  place 
Whether  the  lake  had  before  that  time  been 
explored  as  far  as  this,  I  have  not  discovered. 
It  IS  however  certain  that  the  vessel  of  La 
Salle  was  the  first  ship  that  ever  sailed  on 
th3  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,  or  Lake  Fronte- 
nac as  ,t  was  called  by  him.     The  voyage 
occupied  about  a  month,   the  winds   being 
contrary,  and  from  the  swiftness  of  the  cui^ 
lent,  as  it  was  said  by  the  historian  of  that 
:  o^7  i«-:^  vv^xc  uuiiged  to  anchor  their 

3 


3r» 


ANCIEx\T    lIIiSTORY. 


1 


ij 


M 

M 

ill!  i! 


ship  at  a  distance  of  nine  leagues  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  It  however  appears 
that  De  La  Salle  sailed  into  the  Niagara 
with  a  ^wooden  canoe'  of  ten  tons,  and  ex- 
plored the  river  as  far  as  the  great  cataract, 
w^hich  he  described  as  being  six  hundred  feet 
high.  'Niagara,'  says  he,  'is  a  village  of  the 
Iroquois  situated  upon  the  lake  of  Conti,  near 
the  wonderful  fall  I  have  taken  notice  of.' 
'Though  this  little  party  were  kindly  received 
by  the  Iroquois,  yet  they  described  them  as 
being  a  stoical  and  courageous  race,  capable 
of  enduring  without  signs  of  emotion  the 
acutest  torments  the  ingenuity  and  cruelty 
of  their  enemies  could  invent;  as  never  ask- 
ing quarter  in  war,  and  seldom  giving  it  to 
others,  and  as  drinking  the^^bldod  of  their 
butchered  enemies. 

"The  party  of  La  Salle  laid  by  one  night 
at  their  village,  but  the  next  day  they  wont 
three  leagues  higher  up,  near  where  Lewis- 
ton  now  stands,  for  the  purpose  of  building 
a  fort.  They  began  to  lay  the  foundation, 
but  the  Iroquois  becoming  jealous  of  their 
work,  they  gave  it  up,  and  contented  them- 
selves with  driving  strong  palisades  to  pro-* 
tect  their  magazine. 


ANCIENT    HISTORY.  27 

"De  La  Salle  intended  to  commence  build- 
ing a  slup  above  the  great  falls  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  Lake  Erie,  or  Lake  Herie 
as  n  was  then  called.     But  the  season  was 
so  far  advanced  that  he  was  obliged  to  «ive 
•t  "P  till  the  next  year,  and  he  returned  to 
i^ort  Frontenac,  where  he  spent  the  winter, 
in  1684  a  slight  fortification  was  made 
here,  and  m  1687  for  the  more  effectual  de- 
lence  of  Aew  France,  as  the  French  posses- 
sions m  America  were  then  called,  it  was 
improved   by  t!)e  addition  of  four  bastions. 
It  does  ,:ot  appear  wlicther  the  French  con- 
tinued to  occupy  this  post  after  that  time, 
it  ,g  probable  that  it  was  used  as  a  place  of 
retreat  against  the  incursions  of  the  savao^cs 
7  s'-'ch  trading  parties  as  came  to  the  place 
tor  xho  purpose  of  trafficking  with  the  na- 
uves. 

"In  1721,  a  party  came  to  take  measures 
for  a  permanent  settlement,  on  the  spot  where 
Dc  La  Salle  had  driven  his  rude  palisades 
Jorty  three  years  before;  and  in  1726  the  tlajr 
of  Fiance  was  floating  from  Fort  Niagara 
; '.''  f '■''"f  "'°»ght  that  by  keeping  up  a  for- 
mication there  they  would  be  able  to  give  the 


28 


ANt'ir.NT    IIISTOHY. 


III 


P         ! 


law  lo  tho  Iroquois,  who  had  ^'onerally  b(ion 
onlisttMi  on  tho  sido  of  i\\c.  Dw^VihU  in  t\u) 
wars  whioh  had  hocn  carried  on  hotwoen 
thoni  and  tho  French  on  tliis  contintnit. 

**The  fortress  of  Niai^ara  ^avo  a  ('ontrol 
over  the  connnerce  of  the  wihl  regions  of 
tlie  west.  The  great  lalu^s  were  even  then 
the  pathway  for  the  inunense  fur-trade  that 
was  carried  on  between  the  Europeans  and 
the  natives.  Tlie  furs  that  ©anie  directly 
from  tlie  forests  W'cto  collected  here,  and 
those  also  that  came,  by  way  of  the  great 
lakes  from  the  more  distant  west,  passed 
over  tlu^  portages  round  the  falls  of  Niagara. 
The  boundless  region  in  which  they  were 
gathered,  knew  no  jurisdiction  but  that  of 
the  French.  They  had  explored  every  lake 
and  river,  both  for  the  purpose  of  traffic,  and 
for  the  extension  of  the  christian  faith. 
Their  missions  in  that  early  day  extended 
even  beyond  Lake  Superior. 

**So  far  as  is  known  Fort  Niagara  conti- 
nued in  possession  of  the  French  till  the 
year  1759,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  En- 
glish. They  had  landed  about  three  miles 
from  tile  fort  under  General  Fridcaux,  ana 


1 

UAy  aiiu 


ANCIi:iVT    IflNTonv. 


29 


hh 


or  a  sliort  action,   d 


li'ilhid,  \\u)  FroiKtli 


urinir  wliirli  ho  wj 


<^>^'  «ix    lniri(lr(!(J 


surrendered  vvjfli  the  I 


IH 


'h'I'  I^illod.      Fren.   that 
tisli  rid(j  in   Nonh  A 
Uiwird  down  to  i}i(.  A 


pri.sonrjrs  jnid  a  small 


O.SH 


nurn- 


♦  irne  be^ran  lh(;  Ijri- 


rnerje 


wJiiftl 


I  was  (;on- 


n 


rneriean  rcjvolnlion. 


n  N.'pteniber  I77«a.i(rand  Ind 


<il    WiiH  held  at  j\ 


'«ni  eoun- 


l.•|'^•l 


••ind  other  loy.'ih'sfs,  with  tf 
«overal    oih(.r  tribes  of  Jnd 


ni  by  Colonf;!  lUal 


(;r 


"!  NIX  nations  and 


jajis. 


'"^•'''><"^'<)lonel  (.'aldwell,  wl 


dross   W'hieh    w 
prestujt,  (ieelarjnir  tl 


ui  the  pn.'s- 
if>  was  then  in 


munand  at  the  lort.     They  adopted  an  ad- 

H   si.crnod    by   ;dl   th(.'  ehiefk 


l\(U 


in  th(3  war,  and  abid(j  tl 
tost  of  the  kin<r  m'iWi  I 


r  intention  'to  embark 


10  result  oi"  th 
j)eoj)l 


e  con- 


A  stn 


>^o.,  w,    ,nu  Kne^r^vjiii  Jus  people.'     A  j^ 
i'Poal  was  made  to  the  Oneidas  imd  7 


i'^>ras,    Imt  oi 
trii)(»s    bei 


10   sarthein    fVor 


jiiir 


usca- 


M  car;h  of  those 


,„  ,  .,  '^  '  '''^'  ''  ^1'^'^  the  Boston!- 
'-^'s,  as  the  Americans  were  called,  'and  bo 
^tron.n:  and  fulfill  their 
k'n 


^f^' 


cnga/Tonients  to  tho 


hid 
1? 


"Tlirough  tho  lonir  j.^riod  of  th 
eon  the  French  and  English 
':^  ^^^^tions  iiad  been  on   tho  side  of  uio 
T  ^vero  now  true  to  their  old 


0  wars  be- 
rnost  of  tho 


^'mi^ii.    71 


3# 


30 


ANCIENT    HISTORY. 


friends  and  allies.     At  the  great  council  held 
here,    the  representatives  of  fifteen   Indian 
nations  had  agreed  to  support  them;  and  du- 
ring the  winter  of  1780,  there  were  four 
hundred  loyalists  under  Colonel  Butler,  six 
hundred  British  regulars  under  a  Captain, 
and   twelve  hundred   Indians  under   Brant, 
and  Colonel  Guy  Johnson  quartered   here; 
the  Indian  Captain  and  the  British  Colonel 
dividing  between  them  the  honor  of  com- 
manding an  army  of  savages." 

The  Captain  had  before  known  the  history 
of  this  fortiiess,  only  from  the  time  it  had 
been  in  the  possession  of  the  Americans,  and 
he,  as  well  as  Harry,  was  instructed  by  this 
relation  of  the  Colonel. 

"There  were  some  strange  characters 
here,"  said  the  Colonel,  "during  the  year 
1780;  and  if  you  are  not  already  tired  of  my 
long  stories,  I  will  give  you  some  account  of 

them." 

The  Captain  was  always  ready  to  listen 
to  the  stories  of  an  old  soldier,  and  Harry 
was  more  anxious  to  hear  him  than  ever. 

"I  will  in  the  first  place,"  said  the  Colonel, 
"give  you  some  idea  of  the  appearance  of 


ANCIENT   HISTORY. 


31 


the  fort  as  it, was  described  by  an  old  soldier 
who  was  mb.  long  time  kept  there  as  a  pris- 
oner, and  of  whom  I  shall  tell  you  more  here- 
after, at  was  at  that  time/  said  he,  'a  struc- 
ture of  considerable  magnitude  and  of  great 
strength,  enclosing  an  area  of  from  six  to 
eight  acres  of  ground.  Within  the  enclosure 
was  a  handsome  dwelling  house  which  was 
occupied  by  Colonel  Guy  Johnson.  He  was 
at  that  time  a  short  pussy  man,  about  forty 
years  of  age,  of  stern  countenance  and  haugh- 
ty demeanor,  dressed  in  British  uniform,  with 
powdered  hair  and  a  cocked  hat;  and  his 
voice  bore  evidence  of  his  Irish  extraction.' 

*'A  more  remarkable  character,"  continued 
the  Colonel,  ^^was  Captain  Joseph  Brant,  the 
head  chief  of  the  Mohawks.  He  was  a  tall 
and  rather  spare  man,  fierce  looking  but  well 
spoken,  and  about  forty  years  of  age.  He 
wore  moccasins  elegantly  trimmed  with  beads, 
leggins  of  superfine  blue,  a  short  green  coat 
with  silver  epaulets,  and  a  Small  laced  round 
hat.  He  had  a  silver  mounted  cutlass,  and 
a  blanket  of  blue  cloth  with  a  red  border, 
which  he  sometimes  dropped  in  the  chair  in 
irviiiv.il  lic  But,  liiiiL  iiis  epauieis  might  not  be 
concealed  from  the  view." 


32 


s; 
■* 


ANCIENT    HISTORY, 


ddressing 
r  of  the 


at  the  village 


"This  man,"  said  the 
himself  to  Harry,   "wl|ti 
young  Mohawk  chief 
of  the  Tuscaroras." 

*'Was  he  as  brave  a  man  as  the  young 
chief?"  asked  Harry. 

''He  was  a  man  of  great  courage,"  an^ 
sw^red  the  Captain,  "and  the  greatest  war- 
rior among  the  Six  Nations.  By  some  he  has 
generally  been  believed  to  be  cruel,-  but  that 
charge  has  been  questioned  by  his  more  par- 
tial friends." 

.  "There  was  one  of  those  men  there,"  said 
the  Captain,  '^of  whom  I  do  not  like  to  speak, 
and  I  would  not,  but  that  he  belongs  to  the 
history  of  the  time." 

Harry  and  the  Captain  sat  in  silence,  ho- 
ping that  the  narrative  of  the  Colonel  would 
be  continued. 

"John  Butler,"  said  the  Colonel,  "was  a 
loyalist;  and  he  had  zealously  entered  into 
the  service  of  the  English.  He  was  not  only 
active  in  their  cause,  but  he  was  cruel  to- 
wards his  own  countrymen,  the  Americans. 
He  had  led  on  the  merciless  Indians,  at  the 
massacre  of  Wyoming  on  the  third  of  July 


(I 


ANCIENT   HISTORY.  33 

1778      There  was  an  indiscriminate  slaugh- 

•    !Xff'""''  ''"'"*'"  ^""^  '^''"'l'-^".  and  their 
cries  Jor  mercy  were  answered  by  a  death 

blow  from  the  hatchet.     Many  are'  now  t- 

mg  to  mourn  the  massacre  of  Wyoming: 

;Five  hundred  of  her  brave  that  valley  green 
irod  on  the  morn  in  soldier-spirit  gay 
•But  twenty  lived  (o  tell  the  noon-day  ec'eoe!'  " 

The  Captain  needed  but  to  have  his  old  rec- 
ollections of  history  revived,  to  create  in  his 
bosom  the  deep  abhorrence  that  all  so  justly 
deserve,  who  took  part  in  the  cruelties  of 
that  day;  but  Harry  heard  the  story  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life  with  all  its  horrible  de- 
tails, and  his  young  blood  was  stirrad  with  a 
Ireezmg  terror.  \% 

"John  Butler,"  continued  the  Colonel,  ^ 
a  son,  also  a  loyalist,  who  bore  the  rank  of 
a  Lieutenant  in  the  British  army.  He  had 
been  ai-rested  at  the  German  Plats  as  a  spy 
from  that  portion  of  the  British  army,  under 
Co  onel  St.  Leger.  He  wa.  tried.  co;victed 
and  sentenced  to  death;  but  through  the  in- 
fluence of  friends,  was  reprieved  and  closely 
mipnsoned  in  Albany.     He  however  found 

fneans  to  esnnnp    nn/^  «« _r^      

f  *L  -r  7     XIV.  oK,un  uuur  joined  his 

i^ather  at  Fort  Niagara. 


34 


r 


lENT    HISTORY, 


** Young  Butler  having  been  pronOjOted  to 
the  rank  of  a  Captain,  he  determined  to  re- 
venge his  imprisonment  by  a  hostile  incur- 
sion into  the  territory  of  his  coutrymen.  He 
marched  at  the  head  of  a  detachment  of  ran- 
gers, accompanied  by  Brant  witli  a  small 
body  of  Indians.  The  point  selected  for  his 
first  attack  was  Cherry  Valley,  second  only 
in  beauty  and  fertility  to  the  valley  of  the 
Susquehanna;  and  the  bloody  scene  he 
enacted  there  on  the  11th  day  of  November 
!778,  was  hardly  excelled  in  cruelty  by  the 
massacre  of  Wvomini?'.  Whole  familie:.  were 
murdered  when  resistance  was  out  of  their 
power,  and  some  taken  prisoners  and  carried 
away  into  captivity. 

"^^^Among  the  prisoners  taken  was  a  Mrs. 
Campbell  and  her  four  children.  Her  moth- 
er was  also  a  prisoner,  but  being  unable 
to  travel  on  account  of  her  age,  she  fell  by 
the  side  of  her  daughter  by  a  blow  from  the 
tomahawk.  Mrs.  Campbell  marched  with  a 
child  in  her  arms,  urged  on  by  an  uplifted 
hatchet,  to  the  Seneca  Castle.  Her  children 
were  then  taken  from  her,  and  she  was  kept 
there    till    the   next   June,   when   she   was 


t-'i  were 


ANCIENT    HISTORY.  35 

brought  to  Niagara.     While  here  she  recov- 
ere<  three  of  her  children  from  the  Indians." 
io   contniue   the   narrative   of  the  old 
Captam,'  sa.d  the  Colonel,  "there  was  anoth- 
er person  here  during  that  period  of  some 
celebnty   m   her  time.     It   was   Catharine 
Montour,  a  half  blood,  and  generally  believ- 
ed to  have  been  the  daughter  of  Count  Fron- 
enac,  one  of  the  Governors  of  New  France. 
When   but  ten  years  old,  during  the  wars 
between  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  French  and  ' 
Hurons,  she  Mas  carried  away  as  a  captive 
mto  the  Seneca  country,  and  adopted  by  her 
captors;  and  when  she  had  grown  up  she 
was  married  to  a  distinguished  chief     She 
was  celebrated  for  her  beauty  and  address 
and  was  treated  with  much  distinction  by  the 
British  officers.     She  with  two  of  her  sons 
was  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  she  was 
said  to  have  ranged  the  field  like  an  enraged 
tigress,  stimulating  the  warriors  to  that  ter- 
rible massacre.     One  of  her  sons  was  also  in 
the  massacre  at  Cherry  Valley.     The  father 
ot  Mrs.  Campbell  had  been  captured  by  him 
and  as,  from  his  age,  he  was  an  inconvenient 
prisoner,  Kate  Montour  was  in  a  rage  with 


36 


'^^NC'IENT   HISTORY 


I   1> 


her  son  for  not  having  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
Such  was  the  companionship  of  the  prisotiers 
at  Fort  Niagara!" 

Harry  and  the  Captain  were  patient  in 
listening  to  all  the  stories  of  the  Colonel. 

**There  is  no  end,"  said  he,  *Ho  the  tales 
I  could  tell  of  events  connected  in  some  de- 
gree with  this  fortress." 

Harry  begged  to  be  favored  with  another, 
and  the  Colonel  proceeded: 

"The  next  year,  1779,"  continued  he, 
"Brant  and  Butler,  whether  it  was  the  fath- 
er or  son  is  uncertain,  were  upon  the  war- 
path, and  on  the  13th  of  September,  a  little 
party  under  Lieutenant  Boyd,  belonging  to 
General  Sullivan's  army,  were  surrounded 
by  several  hundred  Indians,  at  Little-Beard's 
Town,  now  called  Leicester,  and  all  but 
Boyd  and  one  other,  were  cut  to  pieces. 
Butler,  denying  to  him  the  mercy  he  had  ex- 
pected from  Brant,  delivered  him  to  the  In- 
dians, who  put  him  to  death  by  the  most 
horrible  torture.  It  has  been  claimed  for 
Brant,  that  having  promised  protection  to 
these  men,  he  would  have  kept  his  word; 
but  it  may  be  presumed  that  he  left  them  in 


I    place 
the   I 


ANCIENT   HISTORV 


37 


the  care  of  Butler  and  absented  himself  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  charge  of  perfi- 
dy.  His  mutilated  body  with  that  of  Parker 
his  companion  was  buried  the  next  day 
by  General  Sullivan,  on  the  road  running 
Irom  Moscow  to  Genesee;  but  their  remains 
now  rest  at  the  beautiful  burying  ground  at 
Mount  Mope,  near  Rochester,  where  a  hand- 
some monument  has  been  erected  to  their 
memory. 

"On  another  occasion  Brant  had  made  an 
incursion  into  the  eastern  part  of  the  state 
and  had  taken  several  prisoners,  among  whom 
was  a  Captain  Harper.     Brant  had  at  first 
threatened  him  with  death,  but  had  spared 
him  and  his  companions  on  condition  of  their 
marching  to  Niagara  as  prisoners  of  war 
It  was  customary  for  all  prisoners  brought 
here  to  run  the  gantlet;   but  Captain  Har. 
per  and   his   party  were  saved   from   this 
ordeal  on  account  of  a  niece  of  his    Miss 
Jane  Moore,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  at 
therry  Valley,  having  married  a  British  offi- 
cer who  was  at  that   time  stationed  at  this 
place     It  was  an  unexpected  pleasure  for 
the  Captam   to  meet  a  relative  who  had 


^1 


i 


38 


ANCIENT    HISTORY. 


been   the   means   of  his  being  saved   from 
the  gantlet.     But  such  are  the  chances  of 

war. 

"A  month  after  this  there  came  to  the  fort 
as  prisoners  a  Captain  Snyder  and  his  son, 
who  had  been  taken  by  a  party  of  Indians 
and  tories.  While  passing  through  the  val- 
ley of  the  Genesee,  their  principal  Indian 
conductor  showed  them  the  place  where 
Boyd  and  Parker  were  buried.  These  men 
were  compelled  to  run  the  gantlet." 

Harrv  here  asked  the  Colonel  to  explain 
to  him  how  the  Indians  conducted  this  cere- 
mony. He  had  seen  it  played  by  school- 
bovs,  but  he  thought  this  must  be  a  difi'erent 

aflair. 

"On  entering  the  Camp,"  said  the  Captain, 
"the  prisoners  are  shown  a  painted  post,  and 
they  are  directed  to  run  to  it,  and  catch  hold 
of  it  as  soon  as  possible.  Captain  Snyder 
and  his  son  were  stationed,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom, thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the  post,  and 
their  path  to  it  lay  between  two  parallel  lines 
of  men,  women  and  children,  armed  with 
hatchets,  knives  and  sticks.  Each  one  was 
at  liberty  to  strike  them,  as  hard  and  as  often 


I   from 
ices  of 

the  fort 
is  son, 
Indians 
the  val- 
Indian 
where 
;se  men 

explain 

is  cere- 

school- 

lifierent 

I'aptain, 
ost,  and 
tch  hold 

Snyder 
the  cus- 
lost,  and 
llel  lines 
ed  with 
one  was 

as  often 


ANCIENT    HISTORY.  39 

asthey  could  before  they  reached  the  post. 
Sometimes  they  were  severely  cut.  The 
prisoners  saw  the  long  line  of  savages  on 
each  s,de  with  their  uplifted  weapons  but 
knowing  that  much  depended  upon  thel 
courage  m  the  race,  they  ran  with  all  the  r 
m-ght  and  reached  the  post  with  very  Kttle 

27;    "*  Po '"""S  """=''  ""-riment  to 
he  Indians.     Had  they  faltered  and  showed 

sTverefy.  '  "'  """"  '^^^  ^""-^-l  "^^re 
"One  prisoner  trembled  with  fear  and 
begged  ,0  be  excused  from  the  trial.'  But 
the  chief  threatened  him  with  his  upraised 
ha  chet,  telling  him  to  run  for  his  life,  a„d 
before  he  reached  the  post,  he  received  ^any 
a  severe  blow,  and  was  afterwards  jeered  bv 
the  Indians  for  his  cowardice. 

"When  the  prisoners  had  entered  the  fort 
ToZTi  '"  the  younger  Snyder;  'You  are' 
young  and  you  I  pity;  but  for  that  old  vil- 
lam  there,  pointing  ,o  the  father,  'I  have  no 

"And  now,"  said  the  Colonel,  I  will  give 

you  the  last  act  in  the  life  of  Walter  N.lut- 
"••     u.  .v»i   ae  led  an  expedition  against 


40 


ANCIENT    HISTORY. 


Johnstown.     He  was  met  by  the  Americans 
at  a  place  called  Jersey's  fields,  on  the  West 
Canada  Creek,    about   fifteen    miles    above 
Herkimer.     A  brisk  engagement   followed, 
the  parties  being  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
creek,  during  which  Butler  fell  by  a  shot 
from  an  Oneida  warrior,  who  rushed  across 
the  creek,  and  while  Butler  was  begging  for 
mercy,   the  Oneida  with  uplifted  axe,   told 
him  to  remember  Cherry  Valley,  and  buried 
it  in  his  brains.     This  was  the  end  of  a  tory 
who  was  one  of  the  severest  scourges  of  his 

country. 

"Before  I  leave  oflf,"  said  the  Colonel,  ''I 
must    tell    you   one    more    strange    scene 
that  was  enacted  at  this   fortress.     In  the 
month  of  May  1793,  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Bev- 
erly Randolph  and  Timothy  Pickering,  Amer- 
ican commissioners,  came  to  Fort  Niagara 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  council  with  the 
Indians.     It  will  be  remembered   that  this 
was  long  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary 
war;  but  the  fortress,  though  agreed  by  the 
treaty  of  peace  to  be  surrendered,  was  re- 
tained by  the  EngUsh.     While  they  were 

•.•     _    r_-   Al,  _    !,r«l    ^f    ^lolorrntfia   from    i\\0    I 

wailing  lur  tuu  iuiivai  ^t^  «^iv.Q«.r.v,- 


lericans 
e  West 

above 
>llowed, 
of  the 
a  shot 
I  across 
ging  for 
xe,  told 
d  buried 
f  a  tory 
es  of  his 

lonel,  *'I 

e    scene 

In  the 

)ln,  Bev- 

g,  Amer- 

Niagara 

with  the 

that  this 

lutionary 

id  by  the 

,  was  re- 

ley  were 

from  the 


ANCIENT   HISTORY.  4] 

24th  day  of  June,  the  birth-day  of  the  kin^ 
was  celebrated  here.  Governor 'simcoe  g  ;f 
an  entertainment,  ending  with  a  ball  in  the 
evening.  Thus  with  feasting,  and  music  and 
anc,„^  ,  ,he  gala  day  of  royalty  celebra- 
ted on  American  soil,  i„  a  fortress  at  that 

"-  rightfully  belonging  to  us,  but  in  the 
possession  of  an  armed  force  of  Great  Brt 

ta'mlv'f    '^":  fi""''"'^''  commissioners  relunc- 

n     r       r'^'''^^  "'"""S  *he  guests. 
'On   the   7th   of  July  the  grand  Indian 
ouncil  was  opened,  in  the  presence  of  Gov- 
ernoi   Simcoe,  and  a  large  number  of  civil 
and  military  officers.     Captain   Brant  was 
also  there  and  a  deputation  of  about  fif'y 
Indians  from  the  northwestern  tribes,  and  a 
delagation  from  the  seven  Indian  nations  of 
Canada,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty.     The  subject  of  the  treaty  was  the 
hreatened  disturbances  among  the  we  tern 

nbes,  and  after  a  few  days  of  consXt  on 
they  adjourned  to  hold  another  great  councH 
at  the  rapids  of  the  miami.  »» ''"""cil 

"This  is  the  last  event  that  I  know  of 
any  importance,  connected  with  this  forti 

4* 


Mill 


42 


ANCIENT    HISTORY. 


ress,  till  in  1796,  it  was  delivered  up  by  the 
English  to  the  Americans,  who  had  the  unin- 
terrupted possession  of  it  from  that  time  to 
the  war  of  1812,  when  it  again  became  the 
scene  of  conflict." 


up  by  the 

the  unin- 

it  time  to 

came  the 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  IROQUOIS. 


Hany  had  been  deeply  interested  in  the 
ancient  history  of  the  fortress,  as  it  was 
related  by  the  Colonel. 

"I  would  like,"  said  he,  "to  know  more 
about  the  early  history  of  the  Indians." 

"Your  friend  the  Captain,"  said  the  Col- 
onel, "can  give  you  a  better  account  of  them 
than  I  can." 

"There  were  so  many  nations  or  tribes  of 
Indians,"  said  the  Captain,  "inhabiting  differ- 
ent parts  of  this  country,  previous  to  its  dis- 
covery and  occupation  by  the  French  and 
English,  that  I  hardly  know  where  to  begin 
The  greater  part  of  the  State  of  New  York 
and  some  portions  of  Upper  Canada  on  the 
borders  of  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Ontario,  were 
in  possession  of  the  Iroquois.     This   name 
was  given  to  them  by  the  French.     By  the 
Lnghsh  they  were  called  the  Five  Nations 
ana,  alter  the  Tuscaroras  had  united  with 


44 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


KMiPi'lF  "i 

m 


them,  the  Six  Nations,  and  sometimes  they 
were  called  simply  the  'Confederates.'  From 
their  superiority  over  all  other  nations  found 
on  this  continent,  they  have  been  called  the 
Romans  of  America." 

Harry  asked  what  were  the  names  of  the 
Six  Nations. 

<'They  were,"  said  the  Captain,  "the  Sen- 
ecas,  the  Cayugas,  the  Onandagas,  the  Onei- 
das,  the  Mohawks  and  the  Tuscaroras. 

"The  principal  village  of  the  Senecas  was 
near  the  Genesee  river,  about  twenty  m.iles 
from  Irondequoit  bay.  The  Oneidas  had 
their  principal  seat  south  of  the  Oneida  Lake. 
The  Cayugas  and  Onondagas  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  lakes  that  bear  their 
names.  The  Mohawks  had  four  towns  and 
one  small  village  on  or  near  the  fertile  banks 
of  the  Mohawk  river.  The  Tuscaroras, 
who,  in  attempting  to  exterminate  the  whites, 
had  been  driven  from  their  home  in  the  south, 
hved  on  lands  assigned  to  them  by  the  Onei- 
das, between  the  Oneidas  and  the  Onondagas. 

*'The  Mohawks  were  always  held  in 
the  greatest  veneration  by  their  associates. 

r\f     iKioi-r     ao  +  f  l*:inai:»nta      tn 


■o. 


*u. 


'\' 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


45 


the  whites,  and  their  warlike  renown,  their 
name  was  sometimes  given  to  the  whole 
confederacy.  In  the  history  of  those  times 
the  Six  Nations  were  frequently  called  the 
Mohawks.  At  the  treaty  of  1768  at  Fort 
Stanwix.  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  they  were 
called  by  the  other  nations,  'the  true  old 
heads  of  the  confederacy.' " 

^'I  have  heard  much,"  said  Harry,  "about 
this  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  I 
should  like  to  learn  what  their  government 
was,  and  how  they  were  united  together." 

^'I  will  tell  you  as  well  as  I  am  able,"  said 
the  Captain.     ''Each  nation  was,  for  some 
purpose  of  its  own,  I  do  not  know  what,  di- 
vided into  three  tribes,  called  the  Turtle,'  the 
Bear  and  the  Wolf  tribes.     It  appears  \hat 
these  tribes  had  different  degrees  of  rank. 
In  giving  the  history  of  any  celebrated  chief 
it  is  usual  to  mention  the  tribe  as  well  as  the 
nation    to  which   he    belonged.     Brant   the 
great  warrior  belonged  I  believe  to  the  Tur- 
tle tribe  of  the  Mohawks,  which  was  the 
iirst  in  rank  in  that  nation.     Red-Jacket  the 
great  orator  belonged  to  the  Wolf  tribe  of 
the  Senecas.     Earh  nntinn  <ro^r^r.y.^A  u 


46 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


1,1 


ill 


mm 


il  11 


liUN!> 


affairs  without  any  interference  from  the 
others;  but  they  had  every  year  a  great 
Council  at  Onandaga,  which  was  a  central 
position,  composed  of  the  chiefs  of  each  na- 


tion. 


)> 


''What  was  the  object  of  this  council," 
asked  Harry,  "if  each  nation  could  govern 
its  own  affairs?" 

"It  was  for  the  purpose,"  answered  the 
Captain,  "of  settling  the  great  questions  of 
peace  and  war  with  other  nations;  to  settle 
any  difficulties  there  might  be  between  the 
different  nations  of  the  confederacy,  and  to 
regulate  their  intercourse  with  the  French 
and  English.  Their  grand  Council  was  very 
much  like  the  old  Congress  of  the  United 
States  before  the  formation  of  the  present 
constitution. 

"The  government  of  the  Iroquois  had  ma- 
ny of  the  features  of  a  free  republic.  They 
admitted  of  no  hereditary  distinctions.  The 
office  of  sachem  was  the  reward  of  great 
personal  merit,  either  of  wisdom  or  elo- 
quence, or  of  valor  on  the  field  of  battle. 
It  w^as  conferred  by  the  general  consent  of 
the  nation,  and  could  onlv  be  maintained  bv 


THE    IR0UU018. 


47 


the  cultivation  of  those  qualities  on  account 
of  which  It  had  been  bestowed.  Their  gov- 
ernment was  one  of  public  opinion.  They 
had  no  executive  officers  to  carry  into  effect 
the  determinations  of  their  councils.  The 
respect  which  was  paid  to  the  chiefs  made 
them  as  binding  upon  the  peopl^,  as  if  there 
had  been  a  power  to  enforce  them. 

The  Iroquois  were  a  very  warlike  people 
and  their  position  was  favorable  for  conquest' 
They  occupied  a  great  body  of  the   most 
iertile  soil  in  North  America.     Their  lands 
were  the  most  elevated  grounds  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,   in  which  were  the  sources  of 
many  large  rivers,  the  Ohio,  the  Delaware, 
the  Susquehanna,  the  Hudson  and  the  St 
Lawrence,  and  many  others  flowing  into  the 
Mississippi,  the  gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.     They  had  great  facilities  for 
going  on  their  warlike  expeditions  by  follow- 
ing, in  their  bark  canoes,  the  courses  of  the 
rivte  as  well  as  by  traversing  the  gr.at  lakes. 
Iheir  hunting  grounds  were  very  exten- 
sive, including  a  large  tract  on  the  southeast 
side  of  Lake   Erie  and  Lake  Ontario  and 
extendinp'  frnm  l ^h^  n^.*-.--    .     ^    ,      ,- 

ron,   and  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Michi- 


48 


THE  moauois. 


gan. 


Their  military  expeditions  extended 
sometimes  to  tiie  southern  and  eastern  ex- 
tremities of  the  United  States,  and  even  as 
far  north  as  Hudson's  bay,  and  West  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  Though  they  possessed 
great  courage  in  war  and  exhibited  at  times 
a  very  considerable  degree  of  military  skill, 
they  delighted  in  stratagem.  They  were 
accustomed  to  lie  in  ambush  and  wait  the 
approach  of  their  unsuspecting  foe;  or  to 
fall  upon  him  in  the  hour  of  sleep  and  cut 
him  to  pieces. 

"The  Iroquios  aimed  to  control  the  whole 
country,  and  they  fell  but  little  short  of  their 
ambitious  designs.  It  is  probable  that  they 
had  conquered  many  nations  before  the  dis- 
covery of  America.  Since  that  time  they 
had  exterminated  the  Eries,  a  nation  living 
on  the  south  of  Lake  Erie.  They  had  con- 
quered the  Hurons  and  the  Ottawas  and 
driven  them  off  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Mississippi.  Wherever  the  conquered.^  na- 
tions went,  they  proclaimed  the  terror  of  the 
Iroquois.  It  is  related  by  Charlevoix  that 
ten  or  twelve  were  pursued  by  a  party  of 
Iroquois,  and  that  in  trying  to  pass  over  to 


you, 

For 


THE    lKO(li;oiS.  ig 

Goat  Island  in  their  oanoos,  they  suflbred 
themselves  to  bo  swept  down  by  the  current 
and  carried  over  the  cataract,  rather  than 
fall  into  the  hands  of  their  dreaded  enemies. 

Ihey    exercised    great    authority   over 
other   nations    with    whom    they   were    at 
peace.     At  a  treaty  held   at  Lancaster  in 
1742   w,th   the  Iroquois,    the  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  complained  that  the  Dclawares 
refused  to  remove  from  some  land  they  had 
sold.     An  Iroquois  chief  after  commanding 
them  to  remove  from  it,  said:    'After  our 
just  reproof;  and  absolute  order  to  depart 
from  the  land,  you  are  now  to  take  notice  of 
what  we  have  further  to  say  to  you.     This 
string  of  wampum  serves  to  forbid  you  your 
children  and  grand  children  to  the  latest  pos- 
terity, from  ever  meddling  in  land  affairs: 
neither  you,  nor  any  who  shall  descend  from 
you,   are   ever  hereafter  to  sell   any  land. ' 
!<  or  this  purpose  you  are  to  preserve  this 
^im  in  memory  of  what  your  uncles  have 
this  day  given  you  in  charge.    We  have 
some  other  business  to  transact  with  our 
brethren,  and  therefore  depart  the  Council, 


«J 

-»1 


50 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


•il 


|n« 


"Even  the  Shawanese,  the  nation  ruled 
by  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet,  and  with 
whom  General  Harrison  fought  his  celebra- 
ted battle  at  Tippecanoe  in  1811,  as  late  as 
the  year  1769,  were  not  permitted  to  appear 
ornamented  with  paint  at  any  general  coun- 
cil where  the  confederates  attended;  these 
conditions  having  been  exacted  by  the  Six 
Nations  as  the  terms  of  capitulation. 

"As  they  were  in  alliance  with  the  En- 
glish, several  attempts  were  made  by  the 
French  to  conquer  them.  In  1683  Delebarre 
the  Governor  General  of  Canada  marched 

* 

with  an  army  against  them.  He  landed  at 
Oswego,  but  finding  himself  unable  to  con- 
tend with  them,  he  opened  a  negociatiun  and 
demanded  a  conference.  Delabiirre  made  a 
speech  irj  which  he  charged  th  ?  Iroquois 
with  robbing  and  abusing  the  French  traders, 
and  with  conducting  the  English  to  the  lakes, 
and  thereby  destroying  the  trade  of  the 
French.  To  this,  Garangula,  a  chief  4pt^ 
Onondagas,  answered,  that  the  Six  Nations 
had  conducted  the  English  to  the  lakes  to 
trade  with  the  natives,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Indians  in  alliance  with  the  French 


'iiftii  't 


THE  inoQrois.  51 

had  brought  them  to  the  castles  of  the  Iro- 
quois to  carry  on  a  trade  which  the  Eiiffhsh 
claimed  to  be  theirs.     The  chief  justified  the 
acts  of  his  people.     'We  are  born  free,'  said 
he.     'We  neither  depend  on  Yonnondio  nor 
Corlaer,'  the  French  nor  the  English.     'We 
may  go  where  we  please,  and  carry  with  us 
whom  we  please.     If  your  allies  be  your 
slaves,  use  them  as  such.     Command  them 
to  receive  no  other  but  your  people.'     The 
Frenchman,    vanquished  in   council   by  the 
Onondaga,  retired  and  gave  up  the  expedi- 
tion. ' 

"The  next  attempt  t,  oinjuer  them  was 
made  by  Denonville  in  1687.  He  landed  at 
Irondequoit  bay  with  an  army  of  tuo  thou- 
sand men,  and  when  near  the  village  of  the 
Senecas,  he  was  attacked  by  five°hundred 
Indians,  and  thouj^h  he  defeated  them  he 
was  compelled,  in  less  than  a  year,  to  make 
ptjace,  and  to  restore  the  captive  chiefs  who 
f  |P°"  sent  to  the  gallies  in  France. 

Harry  asked  the  Captain  what  he  meant 
by  the  gallies. 

"They  were,"  said  the  Captain,  "a  kind  of 
low  flat   boats  with  one  deck  nu-in„.,teA  "-^i^ 


'    i 


11 


THE    IKOCiUOIS. 


sails  and  oars,  which  were  common  in  those 
days.  The  oars  were  usually  managed  by 
slaves  who  were  chained  to  them,  to  prevent 
their  escape.  The  French  punished  the 
criminals  of  their  own  country,  as  well  as 
their  prisoners  of  w^ar,  by  confining  them  in 
the  galiies."  •* 

**The  third  and  last  expedition,"  said  the 
Captain,  '-against  them  was  undertaken  by 
Count  Frontenac  in  1697.  He  landed  at 
Oswego  with  a  large  army  and  marched  to 
the  Onondaga  Lake,  but  found  their  principal 
village  burnt  and  abandoned.  He  destroyed 
the  Oneida  Castle  and  took  a  few  prisoners, 
one  of  \yhom,  an  Onondago  chief,  was  over 
a  hundred  years  old.  After  enduring  with 
firmness  the  most  painful  torture,  and  being 
several  times  stabbed,  he  said  to  his  tormen- 
tor, 'Thou  oughtest  not  to  abridge  my  life, 
that  thou  mightest  have  time  to  learn  to  die 
like  a  man.  For  my  own  part,  I  die  con- 
tented, because  I  know  no  meannesA^il 
which  to  reproach  myself.'  After  this  ti 
gical  event  the  Count  retired  with  his  army. 

"At   the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary 
war,  the  whole  confederacy  with  t&e  excep- 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


53 


tion  of  a  part  of  the  Sen 


against  the  Americans.     In 


ecas  took  up  arnii 


dress  made  to  them  by  Gene 


•inswer  to  an  ad- 


ral  Burgoyne, 


an  old  Iroquois  chief  said:   'We  hav,e  been 
tned  and  tempted  by  the  B 


lave    ioved    our  fathe 


Estonians,  Jlut  we 


be( 


and 


our  'ffitchets 


proof  '';;'V"'^'^'-"'^'^  '"  °-  ««-tions.     I„ 

P'oof  of    the    s,ncen,y  of  our   professions 

our  whole  villages  able  to  go  to  war   are 

come  forth;  the  old  and  i„4  our     fan 
and  our  w,ves  alone  remain  at  home.' 

Dunng  the  progress  of  the  war,  it  be- 
came  necessary  to  subdue  them,  and  in  1779 
General  «ulhvan  n.arched  into  their  territory 

H  burnt  thcr  towns,  and  destroyed  thet 
fields  d  orchards;  and  they  weJe  driven 
rom  the.r  homes  and  compelled  to  take  ref- 

hosUity   to  MS  determined  with  the  peace 
with  Great  Britain.  ^ 

"If- the  Iroquois  were  cruel  towards  their 
enemies,  they  sometimes  suffered  with  equ^ 
jenty  at  their  hands.     Their  courage  wa 

!r;'!Jl-r-!'^-"^ertaki„gt  ho^ 


^^wUa  it  i7 


%ht  be;  and  their  po# 


5# 


er 


- 1   f 


54 


THE    IROQUOIS. 


of  endurance  enabled  them  to  bear  the  most 
horrible  tortures  that  could  be  inflicted  upon 
them.  They  could  go  to  the  stake  and  die 
by  a  slow  consuming  fire,  or  meet  death 
face  to  face  by  a  blow  from  the  war  club, 
without  the  motion  of  a  muscle. 

*'But  it  was  not  alone  their  courage  and 
skill  in  war  by  which  the  Iroquois  were  dis- 
tinguished. Many  have  been  celebrated  for 
their  eloquence.  Their  speeches  were  filled 
with  the  most  beautiful  and  striking  imagery, 
and  their  arguments  were  enforced  by  the 
most  appropriate  comparisons  and  illustra- 
tions, The  form  of  their  government  was 
such  as  to  give  to  oratory  a  very  command- 
ing influence.  Their  figures  were  drawn 
from  the  study  of  human  nature  and  their 
observations  upon  the  external  world.  But 
few  specimens  of  eloquence,  and  those  of  an 
inferior  order,  are  to  be  found  among  any  of 
the  Indian  nations  except  the  confederacy. 
The  Historian,  Charlevoix,  in  speaking  of 
one  of  his  countrymen  who  had  been  adopted 
by  the  Senecas,  says,  *he  spoke  with  all  the 
energetic  spirit  of  a  Frenchman,  and  with 
the  most  sublime  eloquence  of  an  Iroquois.' 


THE   IROQUOIS. 


55 


the  most 
ted  upon 
I  and  die 
et  death 
var  club, 

rage  and 
;vere  dis- 
rated for 
ere  filled 
imagery, 
d  by  the 
illustra- 
lent  was 
ommand- 
e  drawn 
md  their 
rid.  But 
ose  of  an 
ig  any  of 
federacy. 
jaking  of 
n  adopted 
th  all  the 
and  with 
5quois.' 


*  ^Fierce  and  warlike  as  were  the  Iroquois, 
they  cherished  a  deep  regard  for  personal 
liberty.  Slavery  was  never  tolerated  among 
them.  The  prisoners  they  took  in  war,  if 
not  put  to  death,  were  either  made  free 'or 
adopted  by  them  into  their  own  nation. 

"But  it  seems  to  have  been  the  destiny  of 
these  nations  to  waste  away  before  the  march 
of  civilization.  In  1677,  a  century  before 
the  revolu  iry  war,  they  were  estimated 
at  over  seven  thousand,  and  more  than  two 
thousand  fighting  men.  During  that  war 
the  whole  number  of  their  warriors  was 
about  eighteen  hundred;  and  after  its  close, 
in  17S3,  their  fighting  men  were  reduced  to 
about  twelve  hundred,  and  the  whole  popu- 
lation did  not  exceed  four  thousand. 

''Many  causes  may  be  assigned  why  the 
Six  Nations  have  so  rapidly  diminished  in 
numbers.  In  time  of  war  the  number  of 
births  does  not  equal  the  number  of  those 
that  are  cut  down  in  battle.  They  cannot 
endure  t!  o  approach  of  civilization.  Intem- 
perance has  been  added  to  the  list  of  their 
misfortunes.  Their  glory  has  passed  away. 
VT  ny:u  luu  tires  of  patriotism  and  the  glow  of 


# 


MrJ^l 


mr^ri^ 


%% 


"ifc 


56 


THK    IROQUOIS. 


their  eloquence  iiad  ^^one  out  among  all  the 
other  nations  of  the  Conibderacy,  tlicy  still 
lingered  with  the  Senecas.  But  even  there 
the  stars  have  now  set,  and  they  are  groping 
m  tile  darkness  that  dims  the  eye  before  the 
moment  of  dissolution.  They  have  fiillen 
into  a  slumber  that  will  end  in  the  sleep  of 
death.  The  eloquence  of  their  Demosthenes 
no  longer  keep  them  awake." 

The  Colonel  had  listened  to  the  description 
the  Captain  gave  of  the  Iroquois,  but  an  af- 
fair of  business  now  demanded  his  attention 
at  a  distance  from  the  fort,  and  he  was  obli- 
ged to  leave  the  Captain  to  describe  to  his 
young  friend  Harry,  the  remaining  incidents 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  place. 


lii 


• 


.!»»•• 


€ 


(•HAPTER  IV. 


THE  INDIAN   MAIDEN. 

In  the  military  expedition  made  into  the 
Indian  country  by  Count  Frontenac  in  I697' 
among  the  captives  he  carried  away  fro.n 
the  Oneida  Castle,  was  a  beautiful  young  In- 
dian gir .     It  was  believed  from  the  superi- 
ority of  her  dress  and  the  abundance  of  her 
ornaments  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  one 
of  their  chiefs.     She  had  been  taken  to  Os- 
wego, and  from  thence  with  the  other  can- 
tives  to  Fort  Niagara,  as  being  a  place  of 
greater  security.     It  was  sometimes  impor- 
tant to  the  French  to  have  as  prisoners  per- 
sons lor  whom  a  heavy  ransom  would  be 
paid.     Sometimes  it  happened  that  the  Indi- 
ans would  have  some  of  the  French  in  cap- 
tiVitj.     Then  prisoners  might   be  kept  for 
the  purpose   of  exchange.     With   some  of 


h 


!. 


; 


58 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


She  was  just,  at  that  period  of  life  between 
girlhood  and  womanhood.  She  liad  the 
dark  piercing  eye  of  her  nation,  but  its  look 
was  softened  and  subdued  by  her  captivity. 
During  her  march  to  Oswego  and  her  pas- 
sage over  the  lakes  to  Niagara,  she  main- 
tained a  sullen  silence.  This  indeed  was 
partly  owing  to  necessity,  for  the  French 
and  Indians  had  hardly  learned  to  communi- 
cate with  each  other.  She  might  have  talk- 
ed with  the  other  captives  belonging  to  her 
nation.  But  the  Indians  rarely  converse 
with  each  other  even  in  their  own  language, 
in  the  presence  of  strangers,  though  they 
would  not  be  understood  by  them.  This 
habitual  reserve  belongs  in  general  to  their 
character,  and  the  captive  girl  was  not  an 
exception  to  the  rule. 

"When  the  captives  arrived  at  Fort  Ni- 
agara," said  the  Captain,  "it  happened  that 
there  was  a  young  Frenchman  there  who 
had  been  sent  by  the  Governor  from  Fort 
Frontenac,  on  an  errand  connected  with  a 
proposed  military  expedition.  He  had  acted 
in  the  capacity  of  interpreter  between  the 
French-  and  several  of  the  Indian  nations. 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


^       59 


In  this  way  he  had  acquired  some  knowJcd^e 
of  the  language  of  the  Iroquois.  Possessincr 
the  ardent  temperament  of  the  French  he 
had  almost  the  cunning  and  subtlety  of  the 
Mohawk.  He  could  speak  with  equal  force 
though  not  with  equal  correctness  in  the 
language  of  the  French  and  the  dialect  of  the 
Indians. 

''The  Frenchman  saw  and  admired   the 
beautiful  Oneida  girl.     He  addressed  her  in 
the  language  of  her  people.     She  was  pleas- 
ed with  hearing  from  a  stranger  and  a  white 
man  too,  the  language  of  her  fathers.     The 
life  of  the  Frenchman  is  frequently  one  of  ex- 
citement  and  passion.     Whether  engaged  in  ' 
matters  of  love  or  war,  he  acts  from  impulse 
He  loved  the  Oneida  girl,  and  she  seemed  tJ 
take  more  notice  of  him  than  of  any  other 
of  her  captors.     He  staid  several  weeks  at 
the  Fort  and  every  day  he  saw  the  beautiful 
captive,  and  her  conversation  with  him  made 
a  part  of  the  amusements  of  the  place. 

"But  the  time  had  come  when  the  French- 
man was  compelled  to  return  to  Fort  Fron- 
tenac.     He  wished  to  secure  the  affections 

01    this    VOUnff    daiiD-hfpr    r^f  *U^    f .        TT 


* 


;  i 


liW 


;'    1 1 


m 


m 


60 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


dared  not  take  her  with  him,  and  he  feared 
to  leave  her  at  Niagara.     There  was  in  the 
Fort  at  that  time  a  Mohawk  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner  m  a  former  expedition,  and 
who  would  have  been  sent  to  the  gallies  in 
France,  if  he  had  not  been  saved  from  it  by 
the  kindness  of  the  Frenchman.     He   had 
been  accused  of  cowardice  by  his  nation,  and 
though  set  at  liberty,  he  would  not  return  to 
them.     He  was  in  fact  a  renegade;  and  the 
French,  thinking  that  perhaps  he  might  be 
useful  to  them,  had  permitted  him  to  remain. 
He  always  acknowledged  that  he  was  in- 
debted to  the  Frenchman  for  his  liberty;  and 
<^e  Frenchman  thought  him  grateful,  and  he 
"^  believed  that  when  confidence  was  reposed  in 
an  Indian,  it  was  never  abused. 

<'The  Mohawk  had  a  daughter,  nearly  the 
equal  in  years  of  the  Oneida  girl.  He  had 
taken  her  to  an  Indian  settlement  on  the 
north  side  of  Lake  Ontario,  where  he  pre- 
tended to  make  his  own  home;  but  he  was 
now  playing  the  vagabond  about  the  Fort. 
When  a  great  favor  has  been  done  to  an  In- 
dian, his  benefactor  feels  that  he  has  a  right 
to  command  his  services  as  a  recompense. 


THE    IXDIAN   MAIDEN.  gj 

her  there,  till  he  should  ta  J    1       ^T 
provision  for  her       "''^  ,"'.^''«^  ^^me  other 

readily  assented     She  ;atbt:.''°'^"'^ 
with  the  greatest  secrecy   a„d  Jo  „"  '""'^ 

toWthatthewiT^:-— 

hCSttee'^S 

was  his  favorite,    'it  .as  ev^n'  hfu^'  Z 

he  was  not  „„wi,li„g  ,,  ^e  carried  fwaya 

tort  till  the  first  part  of  the  plan  was  nut  i*' 
execution,  and  the  Mohawk  had  TaL^.K 

1    n  01  escape,     ^he  parted  with  the  French 

rnreiX"::tir'^^*^^^""'^' 

turned  to  Fort  iZl^t  ''  ^"°"  ^"^  - 
"They  had  set  out  from  Niagara  on  , 

o""  --  .xio  iun  Deiore  day-Jight 

6 


63fi 


tHE    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


the  next  morning.  In  this  they  were  not 
disappointed.  The  lake  was  so  broad  that 
it  was  not  safe  to  venture  directly  across  for. 
the  fear  of  being  overtak^i  by  storms.  It 
was  necessary  to  keep  so  near  the  shore, 
that  it  could  be'  gained  in  a  short  time  if 
there  should  come  a  violent  gale.  In  this 
way  the  distance  was  greatly  increased,  and 
was  nearly  equal  to  going  round  the  south- 
ern end  by  land.  Two  or  three  days  were 
necessary   for    the   accomplishment  of  the 

journey. 

^'On  the  second  day  of  their  voyage,  the 
bark  canoe  was  put  to  the  test  of  enduring 
nhe  violence  of  the  winds  and  waves.     They 
had'  endeavored  to  shorten  the  distance  as 
much  as  possible  by  crossing  the  widest  part 
of  Burlington  Bay  to  the  point  on  the  oppo- 
site  side.     The   storm  was  every  moment 
dashing  over  the  side  of  the  canoe.     Fortu- 
nately ihey  had  with  them  a  dish  made  of 
birch  bark,  with  which  the  Oneida  girl  bailed 
out  the  water  while  the  Mohawk  pulled  at 
the  oar.     He  had  had  many  a  contest  before 
with  wind  and  weather,   and   his  strength 
,„«„  «^iiq1  in.  fhp  tnsk  of  rowiuff  to  the  shore 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN.  63 

If  the  canoe  could  be  kept  clear  of  water 

and  they  reached  the  shore  in  safety. 

Another  day's  sail  would  carry  them  to 
her  place  of  destination.     They  s'et  ou"   n 
the  mornzng  of  a  fair  day  with  the  certainty 
of  fair  weather.     Gayly  they  moved  over 
the  water  this  day,  and  no  storm  was  nean 
ihey  had  not  reached  the  end  of  their  jour- 
ney before  other  feelings  than  those  of  grati- 
tude  and   fidelity   to   the   Frenchman^ad 
taken  possession  of  the  bosom  of  the  Mo- 

fo7th  n  '  -f '"^T  ^''*  "  '''""S  '«^<=hment 
for  the  Oneida  g,rl.  He  however  kept  it  a 
secret  from  her. 

"They  had  reached  the  house  of  the  Mo- 
lt wo', .'t  ^"^'^'^  '"^"^  '^'  Oneida  girl  that 
It  would  be  necessary  she  should  be  kept  in 

a  place  of  secrecy  and  security.     She  rea- 
dily entered  into  any  plan  that  seemed  to 
iavor  her  meeting  agai.,  with  the  French- 
man       The    Mohawk    under   pretence   of 
avoiding  any  inquiries  being  made  about  the 
character  of  the  Indian  girl,  had  taken  her 
rnaments  from  her.     She  readily  gave  them 
'''       j3  .i^^j  Wuuiu  ue  restored  to  her 
proper  time. 


at 


U 


THE    INDIAN     MAIDEN. 


'li 


*  "It  was  necessary  in  order  to  carry  out 
his  purpose  that  the  Mohawk  should  prevent 
the  Indian  girl  from  meeting  with  his  daugh- 
ter.    Accordingly  he  took  *her  to  the  hut  of 
an  Indian  as  crafty  as  himself,  who,  he  knew, 
would  favor  his  designs.     He  then  repaired 
to  his  own  hut,  and  presented  the  ornaments 
he  had  taken  from  the  Oneida  girl  to  hi    own 
daughter,  telling  her  he  had  given  her  away 
to  a  young  Frenchman  who  would,  in  a  few 
days,  come  for  her  from  Fort  Frontenac. 
He  told  her  that  the  whole  matter  was  to  be 
kept  a  secret.     His  daughter  was  delighted 
with  the  ornaments  as  well  as  with  the  pros- 
pect of  becoming  the  wife  of  a  white  man. 

"The  Frenchman  in  due  time  made  his 
appearance,  but  the  Mohawk  had  notice  of 
his  coming.  The  Oneida  girl  had  been  kept 
concealed,  and  his  next  object  was  to  con- 
ceal his  daughter  also.  But  her  pride  had 
led  her  to  expose  herself  decorated  with  her 
newly  acquired  ornaments.  The  French- 
man sought  out  the  Mohawk  and  inquired 
for  the  Oneida  girl.  He  told  him  that  he  had 
arrived  there  in  safety  with  her,   but  that 

f   VtQv  -rxr^yonn    nr\A    tVlP   rip.h- 


4U- 


-»/-ion  +  TT    r\ 


ness 
been 
Indif 
look 
was 
"C 
Fren 
day  I 

hawk 

thou^ 

ter,  tj 

the  C 

up  th 

He  pi 

search 

secret 

report 

her,  w 

to  brig 

It  was 

he  had 

of  the 

determ 

For  thi 

Indians 

''It  w 

'  '^^  ally. 


•y  out 
event 
augh- 
hut  of 
knew, 
paired 
ments 
is  own 
away 
a  few 
itenac. 
3  to  be 
lighted 
3  pros- 
Tian. 
,de  his 
>tice  of 
;n  kept 
to  con- 
de  had 
ith  her 
^rench- 
iquired 
he  had 
ut  that 

IP  rip.h" 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN,  55 

ness  of  her  dress  and  ornaments,  she  had 

Indian   1;  *"t?  "?^'  '^'^  '^  ^  ^^-4 
oot  „V  H   I     ^•■^"*='^'"'>"  thought  he  saw  I 
look  of  dishonesty  in  the  Mohawk  and  he 
was  not  satisfied. 

''On  making  mquiries  of  ofl^er  Indians  the 

Fre,jehman  found  that  a  ,oung  ,irl  had  tha 
day  been  seen  to  leave  vhc  hut  of  the  Mo- 

tr\"f/r'"^°™^"--'t'-'d  dress,   and 
hough  the  Indians  thought  it  was  his  daugh- 
ter, the  Frenchman  did  not  doubt  that  it  was 
the  Oneida  girl.     He  determined  to  follow 
up  the  inquiry,  and  if  possible  to  find  her 
He  procured  an  Indian  to  assist  him  in  the 
search,  but  unluckily  for  him,  he  was  in  the 
secret  of  the   Mohawk.     The  Indian  soon 
reported  that  he  had  found  some  traces  of 
her  when  the  hopes  of  the  Frenchman  began 
to  brighten,  and  the  search  was  continued. 
It  was  already  dark  when  the  Indian  declared 
he  had  found  her,  and  secretly  informed  her 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Frenchman,  who  then 
determined  to  carry  her  away  that  night. 
J  or  this  purpose  he  had  brought  two  trusty 
Indians  with  him  from  Fort  Frontenac. 
^  —-,.... xx^v^vx  Willi  Hie  Frenchman  and 

'^^  ally,  that  he  was  to  wait  at  a  little  dis- 


60 


THE     INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


tance  from  the  village  till  he  should  be  joined 
by  the  Indian  and  the  Oneida  girl,  while  the 
canoe  with  the  Indian  rowers  was  to  be 
waiting  at  the  water's  edge.  The  Indian 
with  the  daughter  of  the  Mohawk  met  the 
Frenchman  at  the  place  appointed,  he  not 
doubting  it  was  the  Oneida  girl.  There 
she  was,  thought  he,  in  all  her  'beaded 
glory.'  For  fear  of  pursuit  they  hasten- 
ed away  to  the  boat.  His  faithful  rowers 
were  there,  and  soon  they  were  moving 
upon  the  waters  and  beyond  the  reach  of 

pursuit. 

''The  night  was  still,  but  the  only  light 
they  had  was  the  light  of  the  stars.  The 
rowers  thought  it  prudent  to  keep  pretty 
■well  out  from  the  shore  as  the  water  was 
more  smooth.  They  had  intended  to  be 
guided  in  their  course  by  the  stars,  and  when 
morning  came  they  found  themselves  out  of 
sight  of  land,  and  the  day  being  cloudy  they 
could  not  lell  what  course  to  pursue.  The 
Frenchman  had  thought  himself  happy  in 
the  possession  of  the  Indian  Maiden.  She, 
like  the  Oneida  gu'l,  had  learned  a  few  French 
worus  iroiii  uic  nciaeiD,   u^^  iix-^-wv    --  


oined 
le  the 
to  be 
ndian 
it  the 
e  not 
There 
eaded 
asten- 
owers 
loving 
ich  of 

■f  hght 

The 

pretty 

3r  was 

to   be 

I  when 

out  of 

y  they 

The 

ppy  in 

She, 

Prench 

»f  their 


THE     INDIAN    MAIDEN. 

conversation  was  carried  on  in  the  Ian 


I 


of  the  Iroquois.     In  the 
saw  her  fe 


•67 
guage 


morning  when  he 
matures  by  day^light,  he  found  she 
was  more  beatiful  than  he  had  supposed  her 

not  !i     l!^^  T""'  P"""**  ^^"^y  ^t  the  oars, 
not  do,bt.„g  but  that  they  soon  should  see 

the  hght  of  the  sun,  and  that  if  they  were  a 
little  too  far  from  the  shore,  they  wouid,  by 
changmg  their  course  a  little,  come  out  right 
at  last.     The  Frenchman  in  the  mean  time 
was  amusing  himself  with  the  conversation 
of  the  Indian  girl.     They  had  come  in  sight 
of  a  canoe  which  seemed  to  be  coming  to 
meet  them,  and  soon  the  boats  were  in  speak- 
ing distance. 

"The  Frenchman  now  learned  that  they 
were  going  nearly  in  the  direction  of  Fort 
Niagara,  and  that  they  were  much  nearer 
to  that  place  than  they  were  to  the  northern 
shore  of  the  lake.     The  day  was  still  dark, 
and  there  were  some  appearances  of  rougli 
weather.     They  therefore  thought  it  best  to 
continue  their  course  to  Niagara. 

"It  was  nearly  night  when  they  reached  the  • 
J^ort.      Ihose  who  had  known  the  French- 
-  --   ^x,..^,   aixd   iiaa  Deen  puzzled   by  the 


«vS 


Tlir.     INDIAN     MAIHKN. 


mystorioiis  (iisnpucnrmKM*  of  the  OiuMiln  girl 
\V(M(»  snrpris(Ml  to  s(M»  lum  with  ajiotluM*  liuli- 
jiii    lUMJtlcMi    (l(MM)nit(Mi    with    the   oni.'imciilM 
thov   had    known    to    Ix^lonji;    to    her.     Th(^ 
FriMU'hnian  had  Ihmmi  so  clatt^d  with  his  Hiic- 
ross  that  h(»  had  not   discovtuiMl   th«'  chiMit. 
llt^  had.  it  is  truo,  thojii^ht  Ucv  nion*  hcantiinl 
than  \vh(Mi  \\c  first  saw  h(M-  at  I'ort  lNia,^ara. 
8hi*  was   in    trnth   uioro   Infant il'nl    than    the 
Onoida  i?irl.     A  word   tVoni  thc^  danirhter  ol' 
thi*  Mohawk  abont  Ucr  lathi^r  sont  th(»  whole 
iv[\\U  into  his  mind  hko  a  Hash  ol"  n,uht.      lint 
his  (Mnniinii:  and  unicknoss  of  wit  did  not  lor- 
sako   hin\    lioiv.     \\c   ivinainiul    siK^nt,    and 
those  who  rocoixnizod   tho  ornaments   as  bt;- 
lonixinu  to  tlie  Oneida  ii:irl,  upon  th(»  danij^hter 
of  the  Mohawk,  (Ud  not  suppose  th(^  Freneh- 
nian   knew   how   shi»   eaine   in   })ossession  of 
them.     Ho  was  still  the  ereature  of  impulse. 
He  even  thou^fht  that  what  was  intended  as 
a  cheat,   was  very  fortunate  for  hitn.     He 
made  no  secret  at  the  fort  of  his  attachment 
to  the  Mohawk's  daughter;  and  none  there 
•knew  that  he  had  ever  loved  the  Oneida  girl. 
*'As  day  after  day  passed  aw  ay  the  Oneida 

orirl   bpornn  to  make  inquiries  of  the  Mohawk 


h( 


Hf 


'HI^     IMDMfV     IVU|/>|.] 


S. 


n» 


1 


l)o(it    fhn    KrcMcl 


irnnri. 


i/iv(; 


licjinl 


Hr 


nolli 


pnjt.^indod    i 


r> 


"•K  '"''"^n   Jii»n,    |,iit  Hf 


•"•';"''''  ''ofn  Urn  hulhm  who  had 


(;il( 


K5  Hoon 


nMHiHtifd  in 


rend 


ilM(l     I 


nK"Wayl,iH  (laii^d,,,,,  t,Hl,r  l,o;,t,  of  tl 
"•»''>niarn(;rilMan(llj(!riovor 


\nu\h  fliai,  J 


X'^'M   Nfolcn 


It 


'''".""^'''  '''Jliou^l,  hIm.  wr;l|  know  ih 


IfTi 


',i.'«  of  t|„;   JVJoliawk    t 


•<'f  (;H(;a|)(!  and  roium  to  Ni 


oward.s  lifjr   t 


0  ffffd- 
o  niakfj 


l'"n»'>-^'-   hIk!  Hon^dif.  anoti 


•^^nni.     Vor  ihiH 


tho   Ind 


inn  w 


".T  int(!rvi(;w  with 


iin 


and 


posniiT  liJH  dan^rfit 


'"^  ^'•'''   •^'<'"^'   tlirj   Mr,hawk 


'r  nfK,n  tlif;  Kn-nr;/ 


pnUc'ndin-topndiTliinitolfif 


Mi>\ 


I  man, 
lawk. 


wln.^l.  ,„iKl,t,  or  ,„i;,|„  no,  ),.,v,,  h,:,m  mu- 
«lw>  porsni.,10,1  l.i,,,  ,0  ai,|  h.r  in  making  her 
"«<:.'i|K'  The  Jn<lM,n,  himself  a  vagabond 
■<mong  his  nation,  hc^ran  to  ho  ohan,,,,.,!  with 
the  «ar,tivc  ,nai,l,,n,  anri  ho  roa.lily  oonsen- 

"Tl.ou,^rh  thoy  had  no  ,iouht  that  the 
J^ioneliman  ha<l  proceeded  to  Fort  Frontc- 
n;''^  they  bent  their  eonrso  to  Fort  Niagara, 
llie  voyage  was  a  toiisorno  one  for  the  In- 
dian, as  f,e  was  compelled,  unaided,  to  row 
tho  canoe  the  whole  distance;  and  for  the 
-nejua  girl  to  return  to  Niagara  despoiled  of 


■««i«*3.*rt®a^«*-j 


iiiiii<i<iiil 


70 


THE    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


her  ornaments  as  she  was,  it  was  as  lonely 
and  sad  as  it  was  laborious  for  the  Indian. 
But  he  who  had  aided  in  the  cheat  by  which 
she  had  lost  her  trinkets  and  her  lover  too, 
was  doing,  ignorantly,  all  in  his  power  to 
restore  them. 

**Scarcely  had  the  surprise  created  at  the 
Fort  by  the  re-appearance  of  the  Frenchman 
subsided,  when  a  still  greater  surprise  was 
produced  by  the  appearance  of  the  Oneida 
girl.     Among  the  first  persons  she  saw  were 
the  Frenchman  and  the  daughter  of  the  Mo- 
hawk by  his  side,  sparkling  with  the  beads 
and   broaches   that  belonged   to  her.     She 
claimed  them  from  the  daughter  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, and  her  right  to  them  was  proved  by 
all  present.     The  poor  little  Frenchman  was 
confounded.     At  first  he  uttered  an  oath  in 
French,  at  which  those  who  understood  that 
language  laughed  heartily.     He  then  spoke 
the  language  of  the  Iroquois,  and  the  Oneida 
CTirl,  who  had  by  this  time  recovered  her 
de  ^orations,  was  standing  by  his  side  with  a 
consciousness  of  triumph. 

''The  Frenchman  had  first  thought  the 
OnoJrln  m'rl  wns  bpantifiil!  then  that  the 
daughter  of  the  Mohawk  was  more  beauti- 


THK    INDIAN    MAIDEN. 


71 


onely 
fidian. 
which 
r  too 


er 


to 


at  the 
ihman 
e  was 
)neida 
^  were 
e  Mo- 
beads 
She 
e  Mo- 
ed  by 
in  was 
►ath  in 
)d  that 
spoke 
3neida 
3d  her 
with  a 

ht  the 
at  the 
beauti- 


lui,  but  now  that  the  Oneida  girl  had  recov- 
ered her  ornaments,  and  the  Mohawk  girl 
had  none,  he  was  rather  inclined  to  chaL 
h.s  opinion.     To  say  the  truth  he  was  puz- 

1  w^''t'^'''""'^"°^^^^<="y*ha;to 

do.  While  he  was  in  this  state  of  indecision 
theofficers  of  the  Fort,  knowing  that  the 
father  of  the  Oneida  girl  was  anxious  to 
recover  her,  caused  her  to  be  sent  away  pri- 
vately  for  the  purpose  of  being  exchanged 
for  one  of  their  own  men,  who  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 

"No  sooner  had  this  been  done  than  the 
Frenchman  decided  in  favor  of  the  beauty 
of  the  Mohawk.     He  would  in  all  probabill- 
ty,  have  taken  her  to  Fort  Frontenac,  but 
before  he  was  ready  to  set  out.  her  father 
who  thought  his  daughter  was  already  there' 
had  arrived  in  pursuit  of  the  Oneida  girl  and 
the  Indian  with  whom  she  had  made  her  es 
cape      The  Mohawk,  enraged  that  his  plans 
had  been  defeated,  out  of  revenge  to  the 
Frenchman,  who,  as  he  supposed,  had  pro- 
cured the  escape  of  the  Oneida  girl,  refused 
him  his  daughter,  and  the  Frenchman,  swear- 

t.irnn^  V"i^""'' V  "^^"^"  ^na  Iroquois,  re- 
turned to  Fort  Frontenac." 


S-  i 
s' 


CHAPTER  v. 


THE  CANNONADE. 

**Now  Harry,"  said  the  Captain,  *'that  you 
have  learned  t\m  ancient  history  of  the  for- 
tress and  soiriething  of  the  romantic  scenes 
that  have  been  enacted  here,  let  us  come 
dowrn  to  later  times.  There  had  been  a 
sharp  cannonading  between  the  two  forts  on 
the  13th  day  of  October  1812,  the  same  day 
the  battle  of  Queenston  was  fought.  But 
the  firing  that  day  was  so  trifling,  as  com- 
pared with  what  took  place  here  afterwards, 
that  it  scarcely  deserves  a  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  fort.  On  the  morning  of  the 
21st,  it  was  again  attacked  by  the  batteries 
of  Fort  George.  We  will  take  a  stand  where 
we  can  overlook  the  whole  ground,  and  I 
will  tell  you  the  story  as  near  as  1  rem  niber, 
and  as  if  it  wer    now  taking  place." 

Harry  and  tiio  Captain  took  thi  r  stations 
on  the  embankment  next  to  the  river.     There 


they 
well  i 
river. 
''H 
batter 
There 
posite 
my  fill 
There 
sufFere 
Fort  ] 
better 
town  0 
see  to 
you  of 

Niagari 

are,  we 

diers. 

before. 

roused  i 

stantly  i 

upon  his 

Commar 

shot  or  i 

^'Man 

"and  ret 


THE    CANNONADE. 


78 


as 


they  could  see  at  a  glance  the  who] 

wen  as  the  town  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
n  ver. 

"Here/'  said  the  Captain,  "wds  tl.c  west 
battery.     Turn  your  eyes  across  tlie  river. 
There  you  see  Fort  Mississaga,  directly  op- 
posite; and  up  the  river,  in  the  direction  o." 
my  finger,  you  see  that  low  bank  of  earth 
There  are  the  ruins  of  Fort  George.     It  was 
suffered  to  go  to  decay  after  the  war,  and 
Fort  Mississaga  was  built,  that  being  in  a 
better  position  to  defend  the   river.     The 
town  of  Newark,  now  called  Niagara,  you 
see  to  the  right,  a  little  beyond.     I  shall  tell 
you  of  its  destruction  before  I  am  through 

"Now  look  in  this  direction  upon  Fort 
Niagara.  Where  those  old  low  buildings 
are,  were  the  barracks  occupied  by  the  sol- 
diers. I  slept  there  upon  my  arms  the  night 
before.  At  the  first  peep  of  day  we  were 
roused  by  the  firing  from  Fort  George.  In- 
stantly the  drum  beat  and  every  man  stood 
upon  his  feet,  waiting  for  the  orders  of  the 
Commander.  Every  minute  brought  a  hot 
snot  or  a  shell  from  Fort  " 


« 


'Man  the  anpi 
'and  return  the  firel 


George. 


am 


ouxu, 


A  n^i 


5? 


*-!| 


m 


74 


THE    CANNONADE. 


'fflii 


"Quick  as  the  word  was  given,"  said  the 
Captain,  *Hhe  command  was  obeyed.  The 
battery  where  we  stand  was  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Wendell.  He  had  an  eighteen 
pounder.  Gallantly  did  he  play  away,  and 
though  the  hot  shot  were  falling  thick  and 
fast,  he  did  his  part  to  give  the  enemy  as 
good  as  he  sent.  The  sun  has  not  yet  risen, 
but  the  fortress  is  now  lighted  up  by  the  flash 
of  cannon,  and  now  obscured  by  the  smoke. 
Peal  on  peal  comes  from  the  guns  of  the  op- 
posite fortress,  each  bringing  a  shot  or  a 
shell,  but  the  sounds  and  balls  are  sent  back 
from  our  own  guns,  like  the  returning  voice 
of  an  echo." 

"Harry  looked  almost  pale  but  his  ^yes 
flashed  fire  at  the  description  of  the  Captain. 
He  thought  that  he  could  hear  the  voice  of 
the  cannon  and  the  groans  of  the  wounded." 

"There,"  continued  the  Captain,  pointing 
to  the  north  Block  House,  "was  a  six  pound- 
er commanded  by  Captain  Jack.  That  was 
the  most  exposed  situation  in  the  whole  lort. 
But  his  men  manned  their  gun  nobly.  They 
did  not  seem  to  know  that  they  were  in 
a  nlace  of  danfyer.     The  man  of  courage 


neve] 

upb3 

and  n 

"A 

the  sc 

Hous( 

comm 

brave 

day. 

and  h 

servin 

duty,  i 

from  J 

buried 

McKe. 

flash  c 

Was  jui 

shell  ai 

ring  e: 

sons,  a 

honor  c 

"Ho) 

^'The 
Captain 
hole  to 


THE    CANNONADE.  75 

never  thinks  of  himself.     The  fire  was  kept 
up  by  that  httle  gun  through  the  whole  day 
and  not  a  man  was  wounded.  ' 

"And  there,"  said  the  Cap'tain,  poi.^ting  to 
Je  southeast  part  of  the  fort,  "at  that  Block- 
House,  was  an  eighteen  pounder  under  the 
command  of  Captain  McKeon.    He  wr.  . 
brave  officer  and  distinguished  himself  ihat 
day.     He  was  not  the  man  to  shun  danger 
and  he  took  his  full  share  with  the  men  in 
servmg  the  gun  with  hot  shot.     While  on  this 
duty,  ,n  the  hottest  of  the  fire,  a  shell  thrown 
from  Fort  George  fell  near  him  and  nearly 
buried  Itself  in  the  ground.     One  of  Captain 
McKeon  s  men  darted  forward  quick  as  a 
flash  of  light,  and  seizing  the  fusee  which 
was  just  beginning  to  ignite,  drew  it  from  the 
shell  and  prevented  the  explosion.     This  da- 
ring exploit  was  witnessed  by  several  per- 
sons, and  the  air  resounded  with  shouts  in 
honor  of  the  bravery  of  the  soldier." 
"How  are  these  shells  made?"  asked  Har- 

"They  are  made  of  cast  iron,"  said  the 

Captain,  "round  and  hollow  with  a  vent  or 

^—  «*  ^^^oc  ui  iiiaicn,   Which  is 


7« 


THE    CANNONADE. 


¥\     W^IW 


sometimes  mnde  oi  wood,  and  sometimes  of 
some  other  -r.mbustible  material.  The  shell 
being  filled  with  powder  and  fired  from  a 
mortar  or  large  gun,  in  snrh  t.  direction  as 
to  fall  into  a  fort  or  city,  the  fusee  or 
match  is  set  on  fire  by  the  discharge,  and  the 
shell  explodes  after  it  strikes." 

Harry  being  satisfied  with  this  description 
the  Captain  continued: 

"Near  that  block-house  was  a  battery  on 
which  was  mounted  an  eighteen  pounder, 
under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Rees.  Tiiis 
gun  was  aimed  at  a  twenty  four  pound  bat- 
tery on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
also  at  Fort  George.  And  at  that  old  build 
ing  yonder,  which  was  then  the  mess-house, 
was  a  six  pou  ^er  '  nder  le  cai  i  of  Doctor 
Hooper. 

*'I  have  now  ioid  you  how  the  ^uns  were 
placed.  Gallantly  did  our  men  perform  their 
part.  Every  gun  w^s  now  manned  v'  d 
spoke  for  itself.  The  ^  ^y  stood  iike  so 
many  monsters  swallowing  hot  sho?  and 
belching  forth  flames  of  fire,  and  breathing 
smoke  from  their  nostrils.  But  there  was 
nnothcr  si^^ht  there  that  dav.  such  as  was 


"I 


THE    CANNONADE. 


77 


never  seen  before,  and  may  not  be  again. 
A  woman  was  there.  I  was  standing  at  the 
forge  which  was  set  up  for  the  purpose  of 
heatmg  the  shot,  when  I  first  saw  her.  I 
listened,  as  I  was  passing  to  and  from  the 
forge  for  shot,  to  hear  what  she  was  sayinff 
to  Colonel  McFeely. 

"My  husband,"  said  she,  -was  taken  pris- 
oner at  Queenston,  and  has  been  marched  to 
Montreal.  I  asked  to  go  with  him  but  the 
British  oilicers  refused  me,  and  I  have  sworn 
to  be  revenged." 

"I  saw,"  said  the  Captain,  "when  she  spoke 
of  her  '    .band,  that  it  was  Fanny  Doyie,  of 

whom    told      -nhen  we  were  at  the  battle 
ground  of  QueoTi     )n." 

"I  doh't  know  what  you  can  do."  said  the 
Colonel,  "to  revenge  yoi  -self,  but  we  arc 
trymg  to  do  what  we  can  f     you." 

"Fanny  had  seen  thn  n  n  carrying  the 
hot  shot  from  the  for^.  to  the  -uns,  with  an 
instrument  prepared  for  tha,  purpose.  Ob- 
servir^  that  the  men  were  hardly  ^  ,le  to 
suppJv  them  fast  enough,  nd  tl  at  m  .ther 
instrument  for  carrying  s.ioi  was  standing  by 
—     -5%-,  oiio  sciiuu  ii  ano  earned  one  tu  the 

#7 


78 


THE    CANNOXADE. 


nearest  gun.  ft  was  the  six  pounder  under 
the  command  of  Doctor  Hooper.  Her  eye 
gladdened  when  she  saw  the  shot  she  had 
brought  put  into  the  gun,  and  knew  from  the 
flash  and  the  report  that  it  was  bearing  a 
message  of  death  to  her  enemies.  She  was 
permitted  to  continue  and  faithfully  did  she 
serve  that  gun  through  the  day.  The  town 
of  Newark  was  several  times  set  on  fire  by 
this  little  gun,  and  when  Fanny  Doyle  saw 
their  buildings  burning  in  consequence  of  the 
hot  shot  born  by  her  hands  from  the  forge, 
she  thought  her  revenge  was  complete. 
Some  of  the  buildings  in  Fort  George,  were 
also  set  on  fire.  Their  mess-house  and  all 
the  buildings  near  it  were  consumed. 

^'Buildings  in  our  own  fort  were  also  set 
on  fire.  But  the  enemy  did  not  perceive  it 
and  they  were  soon  put  out.  And  here  was 
another  noble  fellow.  Major  Armistead.  But 
for  him,  the  buildings  would  have  been  con- 
sumed. This  battle  was  a  contest  of  fire. 
These  hot  shot  came  blazing  through #ie  air 
like  Hhe  red  planet  mars.'  Mars  you  know 
was  the  God  of  war;  and  ther*  is  a  planet 
of  that  name;  and  iron  was  called  mars,  and 


thei] 


THE    CANNONADE.  79 

the  planet  mars  is  said  to  have  a  red  appear- 
ance,  and  for  these  reasons  a  red-hot  iron 
balJ  thrown  by  enemies  in  war  is  compared 
to  the  red  planet  mars.' 

^*Shot  and    shells  were  falling    like  hail 
and  their  explosion  was  not  always  harmless! 
Lieutenant  Rees  who  had  command  of  the 
southeast  battery,  was  wounded  and  oblic^ed 
to  retire  from  the  scene  of  action.     Captlin 
Leonard  came  to  supply  his  place.     A  gun 
burst  at  this  battery  and  two  men  were  kil- 
led,  and  several  wounded.     Outside  of  the 
Fort  and  directly  opposite  to  Fort  George, 
near  1  oungstown,  was  a  battery  called  thj 
Salt  battery,  consisting  of  an  eighteen  and  a 
lour  pounder.     Lieutenants  Gansevoort  and 
Harris   had   charge   of  it.     With   the   four 
pounder  Lieutenant  Harris  sunk  a  schooner 
which  lay  at  the  wharf  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river.     It  was  the  same  vessel  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  enemy  a  short  time 
before  at  the  mouth  of  the  G.-nesee  river. 

'These  officers  were  active,  vigilant  and 
brave.  Their  wadding  had  been  exhausted. 
What  was  to  be  done?  Should  they  cease 
-•-..  ...iHg:      i  ae  resources  of  active  spirits 


J-;   :.    i 


.' .     J,»l 


f.  ».J 


80 


THE    CANNONADE. 


iiiiira 


liH' 


never  fail.  Their  flannel  shirts  are  stripped 
from  their  backs,  and  torn  up  and  there  is 
wadding  for  the  guns.  This  is  exhausted 
also.  But  the  firing  does  not  cease.  The 
trowsers  of  the  men  are  made  to  serve  the 
same  purpose  as  the  shirts  of  the  officers, 
and  the  fight  is  still  continued.  All  day  has 
the  battle  raged  on  both  side,  and  the  sun  is 
now  gomg  down  all  red  and  glowing  like  the 
furnace  where  the  shot  were  heated.  The 
shots  now  come  less  frequently  and  the  day 
is  to  be  ended  without  any  decided  result; 
scarcely  any  advantage  having  been  gained 
on  either  side.  And  there  stood  Fanny 
Doyle  at  the  furnace  fire.  She  had  borne 
to  the  gun  the  last  shot  that  was  sent  to  the 
enemy.  Her  husband  was  in  captivity,  but 
she  was  doing  the  task  of  the  soldier.  Brave 
herself,  she  well  deserved  to  be  as  she  was, 
the  wife  of  a  hero. 

"When  the  cannonading  was  ended,  and 
the  combatants  on  our  side  had  gathered 
themselves  within  the  walls  of  the  Fort  for 
the  night,  a  strange  spectacle  was  presented. 
I  say  nothing  of  the  dead  for  they  had  gone 
to  tiicir  last  repose,  and  none  now  had  the 


THE    CANNONADE. 


81 


heart  to  look  upon  them;  nor  of  the  wound- 
ed, for  they  were  in  the  hospital  under  the 
care  of  the  sargeons.     But  the  hvirg    they 
were  covered  with  dust  and  sweat,  and  some 
had  been  spattered  with  the  blood  of  their 
dying  comrades.     And  then  their  countenan- 
ces  looked  haggard  from  hunger,  for  they 
had  not  tasted  food  since  morning;  and  their 
hair  was  tangled  and  filled  with  dust.     Their 
clothes  too  were  blackened  with  the  smoke 
of  powder  and  stained  with  blood,  and  many 
a  garment,  the  soldiers  had  in  the  mornin- 
had  been  torn  up  for  wadding  and  sent  to 
the  enemy.     And  there  too  amidst  that  band 
of  warriors,  more  honored  than  any    stood 
the  heroine  of  the  day,  with  the  same  heroic 
valor,  the  incomparable  Fanny  Doyle.'' 

Scarcely  can  there  be  found  in  history  a 
more  striking  example  of  the  heroism  of  a 
woman.  There  have  been  those  whose  en- 
thusiasm  has  urged  them  to  the  performance 
of  great  actions. 

Isabella  the  Queen  of  Castile  used  some- 
times to  lead  her  armies  to  battle.  But  she 
was  actuated  by  the  love  of  conqust  and  of 
national  •'•— 


't  \ 


ior 


82 


THE    CANNONADE. 


Charlotte  Corday  avenged  the  death  of 
her  lover  by  sending  the  dagger  to  the  heart 
of  the  tyrant,  Marat.  She  performed  what 
she  thought  v^as  required  of  her  by  the  obli- 
gations of  duty  to  her  country,  and  her  affec- 
tion for  her  lover.  But  she  was  actuated 
by  a  morbid  enthusiasm  which  ended  in  the 
commission  of  a  crime. 

The  Maid  of  Orleans  thought  herself  in- 
spired of  heaven  to  work  out  the  deliverance 
of  her  country,  and  in  the  frenzy  of  her 
religious  zeal,  she  believed  herself  commis- 
sioned by  superior  intelligences  to  the  per- 
formance of  the  mihtary  enterprises  she 
undertook. 

A  few  instances  have  also  been  known  m 
which  women  have  disguised  themselv/{8  and 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  a  soldier.  But 
such  have  disregarded  the  delicacy  and  dig- 
nity of  the  sex. 

Wnether  we  regard  her  an  making  a  dis- 
play of  personal  courage,  in  the  exhibitjon 
of  a  lofty  patriotism,  or  in  the  manifestation 
of  a  fearless  but  honorable  revenge,  this 
American  heroine  is  no  less  entitled  to  the 
remembrance  of  historv.  thnt  anv  other  fc- 
male  known  to  us.     For  a  single  individual 


THP    CANNONADE. 


83 


and  a  woman  too,  to  think  of  revenging  the 
treatment  of  her  husband  upon  the  army  of 
a  great  nation,  partakes  of  the  sublime. 


'1 


''  *i't 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CAPTURE  OF  FORT  GEORGE. 

"We  are  now  coming,"  said  the  Captain^ 
^Ho  the  events  of  another  )^ear.  All  warlike 
operations  had  ceased  during  the  winter,  and 
it  had  passed  away  quietly.  Commodore 
Chauncey  had  an  engagement  with  the  Bri- 
tish fleet  late  in  the  season,  and  had  taken 
two  prizes;  and  the  opening  of  the  year 
found  him  in  full  possession  of  Lake  Ontario. 
The  war  was  again  to  be  renewed  by  land 
and  lake." 

*'I  hope,"  said  Harry,  *'that  this  year  will 
begin  better  than  the  last."  ^ 

"It  had  already,"  said  the  Captain.  "The 
27th  day  of  May  1813,  was  the  day  fixed 
for  making  an  attack  on  Fort  George.  But  a 
month  before  the  fleet  of  Commodore  Chaun- 
cey had  carried  the  army  of  General  Pike 
across  the  lake  from  Oswego,  to  make  an 
attack  upon  the  City  of  York,  now  Toronto. 
Pike  was  a  brave  young  officer,  and  would 


»^..-.»-s 


CAPTURE   OP    PORT   GEORGE. 


"yS 


aptaiiiy 
kVarlike 
er,  and 
nodore 
le  Bri- 
taken 
3  year 
Ontario. 
)y  land 

;ar  will 

''The 
y  fixed 

But  a 
Chaiin- 
lI  Pike 
ake  an 
pronto, 
would 


have  become  a  great  commander  if  he  had 
-ed.    He  received  a  mortal  wound    W 

British  had  apphed  a  match  when  thpv  r« 
treated,  and  died  in  the  hour  of    i  torT 

ened  by  the  sight  of  the  British  flag   which 
was  brought  to  him  as  the  trophy  of^;icl" 
was  laid  under  the  head  of  the'dyiCtro' 
and  sinking  quietly  down  upon  tiie  folds  nf 
that  pround  banner,  he  expired"       ''^'^''*^ 
It  must  have  been  some  satisfaction  "  said 
Harry,  ",„  the  hour  of  death  to  Jow  th^t 
h- army  had  conquered  the  enemy  "        ''' 

-.-\mSo:diThtiir^^^^^^^^ 

e^tioro/^thfenly^^t,^  '7^- 

^^^^.  asrs,  itridtvThr 

i'arder  if  his  army  had  been  defeated. 

Horn  Yotr^r  ^°""''  '"^  '^^''"  ^'thdrawn 

mouth  of  1^        '^'   ■""  ""^^  ^'•^'^   the 

^.iv...r  ^uijifnana  oi  Cap- 
8 


86 


CAPTURE    OP    FOUT    GEORGE. 


tain  Morgan,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
some  of  the  enemies'  stores  at  the  head  of 
the  lake,  and  had  efFected  their  purpose  by 
burning  the  public  buildings,  and  bringing 
away  the  greater  portion  of  the  property." 

A  pause  was  here  made  in  the  narrative 
of  the  Captain,  and  he  and  Harry  took  a 
small  boat  and  crossed  the  river.  They 
took  an  elevated  position  near  where  Fort 
Mississaga  now  stands,  and  the  Captain  pro- 
ceeded with  his  narrative. 

'•Early  on'  the  morning  of  the  27th  the 
preparations  of  the  Americans  were  comple- 
ted. At  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  signal  was 
made  to  weigh,  and  the  fleet  moved  on  to 
within  musket  shot  of  the  shore,  and  was  so 
arranged  as  to  attack  the  diifcrent  batteries 
of  the  enemy  and  cover  the  landing  of  our 
forces.  At  day-break  General  Dearborn  and 
General  Lewis  went  on  board  the  Madison. 
Their  troops  amounted  to  four  thousand  men. 

*'As  the  troops  advanced,  the  enemies'  bat- 

'^teries  opened  their  fire  upon  them.     The  ad- 

vance  was  led  by  Cohinel  Scott,  who  had  so 

much  distinguished  himself  at  the  heights  of 

Queenston  the  year  before.     It  landed  near 


troying 
bead  of 
)Ose  by 
iringing 
rty." 
irrative 
took  a 
They 
re  Fort 
ain  pro- 


CAPTURE  OP  FORT  GEORGE.      87 

the  fort  which  had  been  silenced  bv  the  guns 
o  one  of  our  vessel.  General  Boyd  S 
h.«  Bngnde  and  Colonel  McCIure  v  i.h  tl  e 
Bale,n,oi.e  and   Albany   volunteers    reached 

he  sw ;,.,,,  ,,^  «^- "-  ad.:::!' 

,    of  the  second   brigade,   and  was  sue 

ceeded  b,Mhe  third  under  General  Chandl. 
i  he  whole  arn,y  is  now  i„  „,o,ion  and  gal- 
iantly  moving  on  to  attack  the  enen.v.     ^ 

under  C'JrVf"""  '"^'^  y""  the  ;dvance 
undu  Colonel  Scott  consisted  of  five  hun- 

dedn,en      As.he..„,.oachedtheshorehe 

was  assaded  by  a  volley  of  musketry  fron,  a 

o  ce  about  equal  ,o  his  own,  stntioncl  in  a 

av,ne  wh.ch  you  see  there  a  !a;io  ,o  ij 

Proudly  did   his  little  fleet   bear    ,„  . 

(h,,    (;,.„      ,•  ,,  '   "°'"    "^ P  aganist 

: '   ^"."  "'    ""^  '^"""IV-      While   the  Ijoats 
;r  ;"  ""''7,  '''''  ^°"'''  '-'  -'-"   the 
vuth  bleednig  hands  they  held  on  to  the  oars 
pulled  for  the  shore.     Several  had  b' 

vu,.„he,r  last  dying  struggles,  under  the 
tct  of  those  who  were  waiting  to  he  near 

«''ougli  to  lean  on  .hnre  n..,|  ^-.  --  ■-    .  r  •? 
„,,„,.  ,■       .      '     ,"  " "-»  a""  '"-"'le  lUiu  fallen 

"^'e>  the  s.des  of  the  boats  into  the  water." 


88 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  GEORGE. 


^'Bring  the  boats  to  land,"  shouted  Colonel 
Scott,  as  he  stood  upright  in  one  of  the  fore- 
most. 

*'Some  were  already  to  the  shore,  and  the 
men  were  springing  out.  Captain  Hindman 
was  the  first  to  set  foot  upon  the  enemy's 
territory.  Brave  young  officer!  I  shall  tell 
you  a  story  of  him  before  I  am  through, 
that  will  send  your  warm  blood  in  freezing 
currents  back  to  the  heart.  Some  of  the 
boats  had  struck  the  ground  in  shallow  water 
before  reaching  the  bank,  and  the  men  were 
splashing  into  the  river,  and  struggling  to 
gain  the  shore.  The  fire  of  the  enemy  was 
then  poured  upon  them,  and  many,  with  the 
^burning  bullet'  in  their  breasts,  sunk  down 
and  perished,  partly  from  their  wounds,  and 
partly  by  drowning. 

Colonel  Scott  and  a  portion  of  his  men 
had  landed  and  were  formed  on  the  beach. 
By  returning  the  fire  of  the  enemy  they  pro- 
tected the  rest  of  the  troops  in  landing. 
Nearly  all  having  landed  they  were  led  to 
the  charge,  and  foe  met  foe  with  the  courage 
of  desperation.  Fire  answered  back  to  fire, 
and  our  men,  pressing  on  with  their  bayonets 


CAPTURE    OF    PORT    GEORGE.  89 

to  the  charge,  the  en.t,iy  were  dispersed  in 
every  d.rec.on.  and  fled  before  their  pursu- 

''Some  escaped  to  the  woods  and  were 
hotly  pursued   by  Major  ForsytJ.e  till   they 

g'owth  of  timber.     Others  fled  to  the  .brt 
for  refuge,   but  there   they  were  vigorously 
assaded  by  the  advance  and  the  first  brigade 
under  General  Boyd.     A  panic  had  s4e 
the  garnson  and  while  it  was  assa.dtcd  bv 
0">-  men  on  this  side  with  great  elrect,   th'e 
battenes  on  the  American  side  and  from  Fort 
i\iagara  opened  upon  it.     The  force  of  the 
enemy  had  been  divided,  those  driven  to  the 
woods  being  unable  to  come  to  the  relief  of 
those  m  the  fort.     Assailed  by  fires  on  both 
sides  they  could  holdout  no  longer,  and  after 
iaymg  trams  to  their  magazines,  thev  aband- 
oned the  fort  and  fled  with  great  precipita- 
'on  and  m  all  directions.     Colonel  Scott  fol- 
lowed  closely  in  their  rear  t,ll  he  was  re- 
oaijed. 

'^'The  troops  then  took  possession  of  ti,e 
Ml..  l.et  us  go  up  on  to  the  embankment 
Wiere  we  can  see  the  vvhol 


i}  D-yn 


Oil  !•»  >-J 


^f 


8* 


90 


CAPTURE  OF  FORT  GEORGE. 


where  you  see  the  opening  in  the  baniis  was 
the  gate  through  which  they  entered.  Near 
thetiorth  side  was  the  magazine  whicii  the 
enemy  had  intended  should  be  exploded  by 
the  matches  they  had  applied  to  it.  Capt.'in 
Hindman  and  Captain  Stockton  were  the 
first  to  enter.  They  saw  the  fire  rapidly 
pursuing  the  train  which  had  been  laid  lead- 
ing to  the  magazine  of  powder.  They  were 
laid  in  different  places,  and  must  instantly  be 
extinguished  or  the  whole  would  explode. 
Had  these  officers  been  alone  and  consulting 
only  their  n  safety  they  would  have  re- 
treated. .But  the  American  forces  were  rap- 
idly entering  the  fort,  and  the  lives  of  hun- 
dreds would  be  lost  by  an  explosion.  These 
were  the  thoughts  of  an  instant.  One  of 
the  matches  had  all  but  reached  the  powder. 
Captain  Hindman  rushed  forward  and  seized 
it,  not  knowing  but  the  very  motion  of  his 
hanci  would  produce  the  terrible  discharge 
he  so  much  feared.  He  was  successful^  and 
the  matches  were  all  extinguished. 

^•A  shou+  was  given  as  the  American  lor- 
ces  entered  the  fort,  and  General  Boyd  and 
Colonel  Scott  mounted  that  parapet  yonder, 


iks  Was 
Near 
icii  the 
ded  by 
I^apt.'in 
J  re  the 
rapidly 
d  leud- 
y  were 
intly  be 
xplode. 
isulting 
ave  re- 
ire  rap- 
of  hun- 
These 
One  of 
lowder. 
I  seized 
1  of  his 
jcharge 
'ul^  and 

jan  lur- 
►yd  and 
y^onder, 


CAPTURE    OP    ,    )RT    GEORGE.  fi] 

for  th.  purpose  of  cutting  away  the  stafl'  that 
supported  the  BriLsh  flag;  bu^  Captain  Hind- 
man  had  succeeded  in  hauling  !own  the  flag 
Itself  aiKl  carried  it  to  General  Dearborn: 
Ihc  uee  shouts  of  the  soldiery  the  the 

air.     This  was  their  revenge  for  insult 

offered  to  the  American  people  tw  ,  years 
before  by  celebrating  the  birth-day'of  the 
-•itish  king  t  Fort  Niagara,  then  wrong- 
fully  withhei  romus.  The  American  en- 
sign  was  then  raised  and  the  .tripes  and  stars 
were  greeted  by  shouts  and  cheers  from  the 
lusty  lungs  of  the  conquerors. 

^'At  twelve  o'clock  the  troops  were  quar- 
tered  m  the  fort,  and  the  whole  line  of  Bri- 
tish fortifications,  from  Fort  George  to  Fort 
^ne,  was  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 
ihe  enemy  had  moved  ofl^  rapidly  and  noth- 
ing was  to  be  seen  of  them. 

''But  the  joy  of  this,  like  that  of  every 
other  victor) ,  was  tempered  with  sorrow 
^ome  of  their  brave  comrades  had  fallen. 
I  here  lay  upon  the  field  near  forty  men 
whose  spirits  had  been  borne  away  by  the 
breath  of  victory.     A  hundred  or  more  were 

made  helplftss  hv  wnnv.^"      e^„- ,, 

I  ^  rr^auao,     ►^juniu  were  there 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^ 


92 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT    GEORGE. 


who  bore  the  honored  scars  they  had  receiV' 
ed  in  the  battle  of  Quecnston.  Though  that 
was  in  its  results  a  dishonored  field,  it  was 
honorable  to  those  who  fought  well  their 
part.  This  had  been  a  more  glorious  day." 
The  courage  of  those  who  fought  and  bled 
on  the  heights  of  Queenston,  and  at  Fort 
George  will  never  be  questioned. 

^'Among  the  dead  was  Lieutenant  Hobart. 
He  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  land  in  the 
morning,  and  had  fallen  in  the  first  charge 
that  was  made  ac^ainst  the  British  force. 
His  body  was  brought  up  here  with  those  of 
his  companions  who  had  fallen,  and  they 
were  buried  with  all  the  honors  of  war. 

"The  famous  forty  ninth  regiment,  'the 
Invincibles,'  the  same  that  was  led  on  by 
General  Brock  at  the  battle  of  Queenston, 
was  here  and  their  commander  Colonel  My- 
ers, was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  The 
forty  ninth  were  the  invincibles  no  longer. 
Twice  had  they  been  beaten  by  the  Amer- 
icans; in  the  first  engagement  their  leader 
killed,  and  in  the  other  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner. 

''All  the  officers  and  men  ens^ai^ed  in  this 
brilli'iiit  affair  acquitted   theni^selves    nobly. 


CAPTURE  OP  PORT  GEORGE.       93 

There  was  one  I  have  not  yet  mentioned, 
who  rendered  great  service  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  vessels  and  the  debarication  of 
the  troops.  He  was  reserved  by  Providence 
lor  a  greater  day  and  a  greater  event  than 
ttiis.  That  man  was  Oliver  Hazard  Perrv 
the  future  hero  of  Lake  Erie. 

"Why  was  it,"  asked  Harry,  "that  our 
Country  did  not  keep  possession  of  the  for- 
tifications on  this  side  of  the  river?  The 
English  always  keep  all  the  territory  thev 
can  conquer."  ' 

"We  had  the  fortifications,"  answered  the 
Captam;  "but  we  had  not  conquered  Cana- 
da.    Had  the  war  continued,  it  is  possible 
we  might  have  extended  our  authority  over 
a  portion  of  that  country,  at  least.     But  we 
had  hardly  recovered  from  the  effects  of  our 
revolutionary  struggle,  when  this  war  begun 
and  our  country  was  anxious  for  peace  as 
soon  as  it  could   be  secured  on   honorable 
conditio/ns.     The  force  employed  in  the  in- 
vasion of  Canada  was  not  adequate  to  the 
end  to  be  accomplished.     There  was  much 
Hard  fighting  without  any  useful  result  hav- 

met  beari  ohtm'no^  »> 


94 


CAPTURE    OP    PORT    GEORGE. 


**Were  our  forces  driven  out  of  this  fort/' 
asked  Harry,  ''or  was  it  surrendered  at  the 
close  of  the  warl" 

"It  was  voluntarily  surrendered  a  few 
months  after  it  wms  taken,"  replied  the  Cap- 
tain. ''I  will,  before  I  get  through,  give  you 
the  whole  history.  The  story  is  a  sad  one, 
not  so  much  from  the  character  of  the  act 
itself,  as  from  the  results  that  followed.  But 
.  before  I  begin  this  part  of  the  story  I  want 
to  tell  you,  about  the  enlisttnent  and  service 
of  a  man  that  I  knew,  and  who  was  for  a 
short  time  before  enlisting  in  the  army,  one 
of  my  neighbors,  for  we  called  all  men 
neighbors  in  those  days  who  lived  within 
eight  or  ten  miles  of  us.  The  story  of  this 
man  will  illustrate  the  history  of  many 
others,  and  I  select  it  on  account  of  the  un-. 
fortunate  termination  of  his  life." 


i 


CHAPTER  VIJ. 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


^'According  to  promise,  Harry,  I  will  now 
tell  you  the  story  of  the  enlistment  of  the 
young  soldier.  If  I  do  not  allow  you  to  have 
your  share  in  the  conversation  as  we  go 
along,  I  will  give  you  the  privilege  of  asking 
the  more  questions  when  I  get  through. 

''I  m_ust  go  back  a  httle  in  the  order  of 
time  in  order  to  give  you  the  whole  story, 
and  that  you  may  better  understand  it.     The 
war  which  was  now  going  on  between  this 
country  and  Great  Britain,   was  authorized 
by  Congress  on  the  18th  day  of  June  1812, 
and  was  proclaimed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  the  day  after.     But  Cono-ress' 
had  before  that  time,  on  the  10th  of  April, 
passed  an  act,  in  expectation  of  war,  author- 
izing and  requiring  the  several  states  of  the 
Union,  to  raise  their  proportion  of  an  army 
of  one  hundred  thousand  men. 


96 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


"Accordingly  notices  were  published  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state,  as  they  were  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  country,  before  the 
declaration  of  war,  addressed  to  the  active 
and  patriotic  men  of  the  country.  An  op- 
portunity was  offered  by  which  those  who 
would  embrace  it,  might  display  their  bra- 
very, secure  the  gratitude  of  their  country, 
and  entitle  themselves  to  a  handsome  reward 
for  their  services. 

"A  bounty  of  sixteen  dollars  was  offered 
to  be  paid  to  every  able  bodied  man,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty  five 
years,  who  would  enroll  himself  in  the  army 
of  United  States  for  the  term  of  five  years. 
In  addition  to  this  he  would  be  entitled  to  re- 
ceive five  dollars  a  month  while  in  the  service, 
and  every  necessary  article  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing, together  with  an  extra  allowance  for 
fatigue  duty,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the 
time,  or  sooner,  if  honorably  discharged, 
would  receive  three  months'  pay  in  advance 
and  be  put  in  possession  at  the  public  ex- 
pense of  one  hundred  acres  of  land. 

"It  was  promised  that  in  case  of  the  death 
of  any  soldier,  his  heirs  or  representatives 


THE    ENLISTMENT.  97 

Should  be  entitled  to  receive  the  three  month', 

to  hm.     Recruits  were  offered  to  bo  receiv 
ed  for  eighteen  n^onths  and  were  pr  ^ 
th    same  pay  as  the  others  except  tiLrnd 

Such  were  the  alluring  pro  Jses  and  flat- 
ering  prospects  presented   to   the  soldtr 
f  men  should  stand  idly  by,  and  seT  t> 
fa  r  possessions  and  the  noble  heritage  of  1^ 
erty  stripped  from  them,  their  iivf     \lt 
rn'gln  justly  reason,  would  not  be  worth  no  J 
messing.     If  they  should  fall  in  attZ  nrto 
-cure  them,  their  death  would  beZ^ 
no-  than  a  life  of  bondage.     And  i  ft^^y' 
should  survive  and  their  country  be  victo 

ahkc  have  been  won  by  the  valor  of  their 

prospect  of  making  fame  and  fortune  at  thp 
same  time,  flocked  to  fh»    .       "«ne  at  the 
countrv     oT  standard  of  their 
ihT  7V     }^''  '^^'■°  ^'''"ated  by  what 
hey  behved  to  be  their  duty,  not  onrv  to 
heir  country,  but  to  their  families  wL  eWm 
d  protection  at  their  hands.    And  others  neT 
haps  enlisted  wifh  f^„  u^i:..         T^'^^P^'" 
'"^  "Cuei  as  wefl  as  the 


9S 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


hope  that  there  would  be  no  war;  that  th-eir 
bounty  of  money  and  land  would  be  easily 
acquired,  and  that,  in  the  mean  time,  they 
would  be  comfortably  clothed  and  fed. 

"It  is  not  known  with  which  of  these  mo- 
tives young  Rodman  enlisted;  and  it  can  only 
be  inferred  from  his  condition  in  life.     He 
had  come  into  the  country  a  year  or  two 
before,  measuring  the  long  and  dreary  path- 
way that  led  from  his  former  home  to  the 
rude  cottage  he  had  built  in  the  wilderness, 
by  the  days  of  travel  it  cost  him  by  the  slow 
pace  of  his  team  of  oxen  with  which  he 
travelled.     All  his  worldy  goods,  as  well  as 
all  his  earthly  hopes,  his  wife  and  his  chil- 
dren, were  borne  upon  his  rustic  sled.     A 
covering  of  coarse  cloth  had  been  stretched 
over  it  upon  the  hoops  which  were  bent  over 
like  an  arch  from  side  to  side.     Though  they 
were  in  a  measure  protected  from  the  storms 
tbey  might  encounter  on  their  way,  many  a 
rude  winter  wmd  reached  them  through  their 
frail  covering. 

"The  place  he  had  selected  for  his  dwel- 
ling and  future  home,  was  not  many  miles 
from  the  frontier.     The  house  he  had  erec- 


THE    E\LISTMEIVT.  99 

ted   before  bringing  his  family  tl,ero,  was 

small  v^ndows,  as  was  common  in  .hat  early 
^ay.  The  chinks  were  filled  with  clay  to 
ieep  out  the  winds  and  the  snows.  Rough 
and  cheerless  as  n  might  seem  to  you,  Har- 
ry,  Rodman  and  his  family  were  happy' when 
they  reached  it.     The  broad  and  blackened 

to  vo     .r",^  '"  "'"P'''  ^'""''^  ^°"W  look 
to  you  hke  the  mouth  of  a  dark  cavern-  but 
when  U  is  lighted  up  by  a  warm  fire.'  and 
the  imie  family  circle  is  formed  around  it 
happy  hearts  are  there.     The  smoke  slowl^ 
mes  up  the  spacious  chimney  which  is  il 
uth   so  large  that  daylight  and  starlight 
a  most  look  down  and  join  their  li-ht  w!th 

1  t'  r  '"  '"""'"^'^  'he"'  ^^"mble 
home.  The  hearth,  which  was  the  signifi- 
cant name  by  which  the  rncient  Romans 
designated  those  places  which  had  been  con- 
secrated  and  made  holy  as  the  homes  of 
their  wives  and  their  children,  was  here  in- 
vested with  all  the  charms  given  to  it  by  the 

eloquenee  of  Tally  or  the  poetry  of  Virgil. 

The  hearth,  which  was   the  household 
^^Jtar,  and  was  in  f^nt  ^^r.. j  .„  i  i-  ,  .    , 


100 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


up  by  the  fire  of  burning  wood,  was  the 
shrine,  where  in  primitive  ages,  at  night  and 
morn  w^as  offered  the  sacrifice  of  contrite 
hearts,  and  whence  arose  the  incense  of  pray- 
er and  praise.  And  in  a  more  correct  and 
spiritual  sense,  the  hearth  impUed  all  the 
endearing  relations  of  wife  and  children,  of 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  in  the  same  spiritual 
sense,  the  fire  that  illuminated  it  was  the 
glowing  light  of  love  and  affection  that  sur- 
rounded the  whole  like  a  halo  of  glory. 

*'But  motives  of  economy,  perpaps  of  parsi- 
mony, and  sometimes  even  of  luxury,  have  in 
a  measure  dishonored  and  brought  into  dis- 
use this  expressive  emblem  of  the  happiness 
of  home.  The  hearth  is  darkened,  and  with 
its  expiring  light,  1  am  afraid  has  gone  out 
some  portion  of  the  light  of  love  that  used 
to  shine  around  it.  The  fires  of  our  homes 
are  now  imprisoned  in  the  blakened  bosom 
of  the  iron  stove,  and  I  am  afraid  that  the 
warmth  of  our  hearts  k  wasting  away,  and 
that  the  light  of  our  domestic  sanctuary  is 
becoming  obscured. 

*'The  whole  family  of  Rodman  consisted 
of  a  wife  and  two  children  of  tender  age. 


THE    ENLISTMENT.  JQl 

He  had  the  year  before  made  a  small  clear- 
mg  about  his  house,  and  the  first  bright  days 
of  spring  gladdened  their  eyes  with  the  sight 
of  the  green  blades  of  wheat.     His  axe  had 
been  active  through  the  winter  and  another 
small  portion  of  the  forest  had  fallen,  and  he 
was  again  committing  his  seed  to  the  ground 
with  the  hope  and  belief  that  as  the  seed 
time  had  come,  the  harvest  would  not  fail. 
It  was  at  this  happy  period  of  liis  life,  that 
they  were  alarmed  by  the  prospect  of  war. 
"It  was  the  first  impulse  of  Rodman  to 
enhst,  but  he  was  met,  as  he  had  expected 
by  the  remonstrances  of  his  wife. 

"You  know,'*  said  she,  ^'that  our  living 
depends  upon  our  industry,  and  if  our  little 
fields  are  not  cultivated,  we  shall  not  be 
provided  witl^    .read.'' 

"The  bounty  money  I  shall  receive,"  said 
^  "will  enable  us  to  buy  what  our  little 
farm  will  not  produce,  and,  besides,  if  I 
should  not  be  called  into  active  service,  I 
may  get  a  furlough  long  enough,  with  what., 
little  assisstance  you  can  render  me,  to  gath- 
er  in  the  harvest." 
''But  you  know,  John,"  said  she,  ''that  we 

,  9* 


102 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


have  two  little  children  to  provide  for  and  to 
protect,  and  what  should  I  do  if  left  alone]" 

"You  have  neighbors,"  said  he,  ^'within 
half  a  mile  on  both  sides  of  you  to  whom 
you  could  flee  in  case  of  alarm,  and,  besides, 
there  is  no  danger  except  from  the  invasion 
of  the  country  by.  the  British  or  Indians,  and 
I  can  do  more  to  protect  you  from  them  by 
joining  the  army  and  being  on  the  frontier, 
than  by  staying  at  home." 

**That  all  may  be  true,"  said  his  wife,  "but 
much  depends  in  our  having  a  home  here, 
,  on  our  being  able  to  clear  up  our  farm,  and 
if  you  enlist  no  progress  will  be  made." 

"I  have  thought  of  all  that,  Clara,  and  I 
have  the  same  feelings  that  you  have;  but 
our  land  is  not  paid  for,  you  know,  and  if  we 
should  be  driven  from  it,  our  improvements 
would  be  of  no  avail.  But  by  enlisting  and 
serving  through  the  war,  or  for  five  years  if 
it  should  last  so  long,  or  till  I  should  be  dis- 
charged in  case  there  is  no  war,  which  is 
,.  is  quite  possible,  I  shall  be  entitled  to  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  free  of 
charge." 

Clara  did  not  assent  to  the  reasoning  of 
her  husband.     Though  the  bright  hearth  of 


THE   ENLISTMENT.  JOg 

Uodman  had  not  given  place  to  the  black 
stove,  ,t  was  believed  that  in  many  things 
here  was  not  the  most  perfect  agreement 
between  them.     Rodman  however  affected 
to  compromise  the  matter  by  enlisting  for 
he  period  of  eighteen  months,   instead  of 
t've  years.     Clara  submitted  without  a  mur- 
mer  to  the  decision  of  her  husband.     It  is 
not  m  the  heart  of  woman  to  resist  where  re- 
sistance IS  useless.     Her  disagreement  with 
her  husband  was  in  fact  only  the  result  of  a 
difference  of  opinion  in  relation  to  their  tem- 
poral affairs.     Their  children  formed  a  bond 
of  union  and  affection  between  them  which 
was  not  to  bo  broken. 

_  "Rodman,"  continued  the  Captain,  "had 
oeen  to  the  recruiting  station,  and  enrolled 
his  nanie  among  the  defenders  of  his  country. 
He  had  received  his  bounty  money,  and  had 
been  permitted  to  return  to  his  home,  to  take 
leave  of  h,s  family  and  to  make  so.ne  provi- 
sion for  them  dunng  his  absence.  A  portion 
of  the  money  had  been  expended  in  the  pur- 
chase of  such  articles  as  were  necessary  for 

Zl  ?°'"^°f  °^  •"■'  ^"'-^  «"d  children.     He 
cly  accomplished  this  object  when 


104 


THE    ENLISTMENT. 


news  was  received  that  war  had  been  alrea- 
dy proclaimed.  He  hastily  finished  his  pre- 
parations and  was.  ready  to  set  out  for  Fort 
Niagara  two  days  before  the  time  limited 
for  his  absence  had  expired. 

*'It  v/as  but  a  day's  march  from  his  house 
to  the  fort.  But  his  wife  felt  as  if  he  was 
about  to  pass  a  gulf  that  would  forever  sep- 
arate him  from  her.  But  his  children! — they 
could  not,  from  their  tender  age,  comprehend 
the  cause  of  all  this  preparation.  Yet  it 
would  have  been  easy  to  see  that  their  fea- 
tures were  saddened  from  sympathy  with 
their  mother. 

*'Clara  knew  that  the  hour  had  come  for  a 
separation,  temporary  at  least,  and  perhaps 
for  ever,  from  her  husband.  Her  courage 
had  been  roused  to  meet  the  occasion.  Af- 
ter he  should  have  taken  his  leave  the  deep 
overflow  of  her  feelings  was  to  come. 

''As  he  looked  upon  his  children  and  gave 
them  his  parting  kiss  there  came  a  bright 
drop  from  the  fountain  of  feeling,  but,  think- 
ing of  the  high  vocation  to  which  he  had 
been  called  he  dashed  away  the  tear  and 
bade  adieu  to  his  family  and  his  home." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

CATCHING  A  TARTAR. 


mM 


Harry  was  so  well  satisfied  with  the  last 
story  told  by  th.  Captain,  that  ho  was  now 
sitting  m  silence,  and  waiting  for  him  to  con- 
tmnc  his  narration. 

"The  last  story  I  told  you,"  said  the  Cap- 
tain   "was  one  of  victory.     Since  that  time 
the  fortune  of  war  seems  to  have  been  rather 
agamst  us.     On  the  6th  of  June  the  enemy 
were   again  attaclved   by  a  strong  force   at 
htony  creek,  which  is  near  the  head  of  Lake 
Ontario;  and.  although  the  engagement  was 
productive^  of  no  decisive  results,  and   the 
loss  of  the  enemy  was  grea'er  than  ours 
yet  strangely  enough  General  Chandler  and 
trenoral  Winder  were  taken  prisoners 

"On  the  23d  of  June,  a  party  of  troops 
consisting  of  five  hundred  infimtrv,  twenty 
light  dragoons  under  the  command  of  Colo- 
nel Boerstler,  and  about  forty  mounted  rifle- 
Mien  under  Major  Chapin,   were  detached 


H 


IOC 


CATCHING    A    TARTAR. 


from  the  American  encampment  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cutting  off  the  supph'es  of  the  enemy, 
and  breaking  up  the  small  encampments  that 
were  forming   through  the  country.     John 
Rodman  of  whom  I  have  told  you  was  one 
of  the  party.     They  marched  to  Queenston 
that  day  and  encamped  for  the  night.     The 
next  day  they  continued  their  march  to  a 
place  called  the  Beaver  Dams,   about  nine 
miles  southwest  from  Queenston,  where  they 
were  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Mohawks 
and  British  regulars  who  had  been  concealed 
in    the  woods.     A   sharp    contest   followed 
which  lasted  for  three  hours,  when  our  force, 
nearly    surrounded     by    the   Indians,     who 
were  commanded  by  the  young  chief,  John 
Brant,  and  being  too  far  from  Fort  Niagara 
to  hope  for  assistance  from  that  place,  and 
unable  to  retreat  without  fighting  their  way 
back  for  the  whole  distance,  thought  it  most 
prudent  to  surrender. 

^'By  the  terms  of  capitulation  it  was 
agreed,  that  the  wounded  should  be  taken 
good  care  of,  the  officers  be  permitted  to 
retain  their  side  arms,  private  property  be 
respected,  and  that  the  militia  should  be  pa- 


CATCHIx\G    A    TARTA 


R. 


107 


le  pur- 
inemy, 
its  that 

John 
as  one 
ens  ton 

The 
^  to  a 
t  nine 
•e  they 
hawks 
cealed 
llowed 
force, 

who 

John 


lagara 


r  way 
t  most 

:  was 
taken 
.ed  to 
ty  be 
be  pa- 


rolcd  and  permitted  to  return  home  immedi- 
ately.    The  articles  of  capitulation  were  no 
sooner  agreed  upon  than  they  were  broken, 
i  he  Indians  plundered  the  officers  of  their 
arms,  and  stripped  the  soldiers  of  their  cloth- 
ing.    The  regulars,  who  were  taken  prison- 
ers   were  soon  after  sent  to  Kingston.     It 
had  been  agreed  by  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion that  Major  Chapin  and  his  men  should 
be  liberated  on  parol,  but  this  engagement 
was  broken  also;  and  they  were  marched  oft" 
to  the  Head  Quarters  of  General  Vincent 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,   where  they  ' 
were  kept  under  a  strong  guard. 

'•The  Major  before  entering  the  service 
was  a  physician  and  surgeon;  and  he  fre- 
quently made  himself  useful  in  that  capacity 
in  the  army.     While  detained  under  guard 
at  the  head  quarters  of  the  British  General 
he  obtamed  permission  to  visit  his  men  at  the 
barracks  daily,  and  to  prescribe  for  the  sick 
and  the  wounded.     Every  time  he  made  a 
visit,  he  gave  some  of  them  directions  how 
to  make  their  escape,  all  of  whom  succeeded. 
"How  is  it.  Major,"  said  the  British  Gen- 
eral, "that  every  time  yr,,,  ,,;»;»  ,. 

some  of  theiii  run  away?" 


mi 


108 


CATCHING    A    TAIITAH. 


''They  don't  like  to  stay  with  you,"  said 
the  Major.  /''They  can  find  a  better  place 
among  thcit  own  countrymen." 

Tiie  General  told  the  Major  that  he  would 
be  sent  to  Montreal,  and  perhaps  to  England. 

"That  will  be  very  pleasant,"  said  the  Ma- 
jor/"! can  then  travel  over  England  and 
perhaps  make  a  tour  on  the  continent,  before 
the  war  is  ended." 

"Major  Chapin  and  his  men  were  kept 
there  till  the  12th  of  .July,  and  no  attention 
was  paid  to  the  article  of  capitulation  which 
provided  for  their  being  parolled.  They 
were  then  ordered  down  the  lake  to  Kina's- 
ton,  for  which  place  they  were  embarked  in 
two  boats,  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  men 
under  the  command  of  a  Lieutenant. 

"The  Major  had  with  him  twenty-eight  of 
his  own  men,  and  they  were  under  the  care 
of  a  guard  of  sixteen.  It  had  been  agreed 
between  them  before  starting,  that  they 
would  seize  the  hrst  opportunity  to  gain  their 
liberty,  or  die  in  the  attempt.  In  the  boat 
with  the  Majnr  and  two  of  his  officers  were 
a  Lieutenant  and  thirteen  men;  and  in  the 
other  boat,  which  was  ordered  by  Lieutenant 


I,"  said 
'  pliice 

would 
1  inland. 
:iG  Ma- 
id and 

before 

e  kept 
tciitiori 
which 
They 
Kings- 
ked  in 
)f  men 


t'ATCHINtj    A    TARTAit. 


J  Oil 


le  care 
agreed 
t  thev 
n  their 
e  boat 
s  were 
in  the 
itenant 


Showers   to   keen   nhnnf    r  i      ,    . 

ivitp  af)out    lour  rods    be  lijid 
were   t  le  resf  of  tl./»  \t  •     -  •^^miiu, 

iJitlish  .Sergeant  and  one  soldier 

^vlien  they  were  miUln  twelve  nnlos  of  the 
P--^nt  C  ty  of  Toronto.  At  that  ti.ne  t  e 
--;  ^^^  the  hin<hnost  boat,  who  had  been 
made   to  row  through   the  day,  at  a  sh^^ 

J|ven  by  the  Major,  suddenly  rLnalonri^ 
tlio  other  boat.  ^ 

"VVLat's  tW.a  boat  M,,  berc  lor'"  asked 
Lieutenant  Showers,  angrily 

-We've  only  just  pulled  up  to  take  a  little 
grog  With  you,  said  one  of  Ihe  rowers 

hard  rown,.  all  day  without  a  littlo  drop." 

"Fall  back!  Fall  astern!"  said  the  Lieu- 
tenant sternly.  """ 

"J"";i;  aboard,  men!  said  the  Major;"  and 
"'""  "''-''■'^^^ing  hin,self  to  the  lieutenant 
who  was  atten.pting  to  draw  his  swJn      J 

"I  now  command  this  fleet  mvself  Siri" 

and,  seizing  the  I.-eutenant  the  same  tsl     t 

y  ;he  nock    the  Major  ,,.o^  ^  "  11 

back  n,  the  bottom  of  the  boat.     At  th"  I 

stant  two  of  t!-^  t^-;--  i    -  ,  --  ^" 

-^  ^^^"  ^'^''^^^  Soldiers  drew  their 

10 


110 


CATCHING    A    TARTAR. 


bayonets  on  the  Major,  but  he  seized  them 
both,  and  turned  them  aside  with  the  strength 
of  a  giant;  and  then  grasping  both  of  the 
men,  with  the  quickness  of  thought  he  pros- 
trated them  on  the  top  of  the  officer,  and 
held  them  all  down.  At  the  same  moment 
his  men  seizing  the  rest  of  the  guard,  wres- 
ted their  arms  from  them,  when  it  became 
settled  that  the  Major  had  command  of  the 
fleet  as  he  had  a  moment  before  told  the 
British  oflicer. 

"All  resistance  being  over,  the  Major 
ordered  his  men  to  change  their  course  for 
Fort  Niagara.  The  Lieutenant,  finding  him- 
self in  the  hands  of  his  prisoners,  and  that 
they  were  hurrying  him  away  into  captivity, 
begged  of  the  Major  to  set  him  ashore,  and 
allow  him  to  return  to  the  British  head-quar- 
ters. This  the  Major  refused.  "Go  with 
us,"  said  he,  "to  Fort  Niagara.  You  will 
find  us  good  men,  and  we  will  treat  you 
well." 

"No  more  was  to  be  said;  and  while  the 
Lieutenant  and  his  men  sat  in  moody  silence, 
the  rowers  were  pulling  with  all  their  might 
for   the   American   fortress.      It  was   now 


nig] 

nier 

haui 

new 

tory 

roun 

The 

byh 

for  n 

story 

when 

He  n 

that  ' 

all  or 

enjoy 

they  c 

Niaga 

terest 

as  the- 

too  W£ 

agem, 

from  a 

for  son 

^'Th( 

day-jigl 

great  n 


i  them 
;rength 

of  the 
e  pros- 
:r,  and 
loment 
,  wres- 
jeeame 

of  the 
}ld  the 

Major 
irse  for 
ng  him- 
[id  that 
ptivity, 
re,  and 
,d-quar- 
ro  with 
ou  will 
!at  you 

liie  the 
silence, 
r  might 
is  now 


CATCHIIVG    .4    TARTAR.  Ijj 

night,  but  they  held  on  their  course      The 
men  who  had  been  dispirited  and  n  a'rly  e, 
hausted  by  rowing  through  the  day    had  a 
new  energy  i„fu,ed  into  them  by  their  vt 

round   at    t^e    expense  of  the  Lieutenant   ' 
The  Major  would  have  amused  his  c  piTe ' 
by  h,s  stones,  but  they  were  not  in  a  mood 
for  merriment.     He  was  telling  them  a  Tood 

He  now  to  d  them  the  story  of  the  Irishman 
*hat  '-caught  a  Tartar,"  but  the  laugh  was 

elTit^Het-     ""'"  '"''"  ""'^  -- "o 
enjoy  it.    He  however  told  them  that  perhaps 

Niagara  But  this  seemed  to  them  the  bit- 
terest joke  of  all,  coming  from  such  a  man 
as  they  had  found  the  Major  to  be.  He  was 
too  watchful  and  wary  to  be  taken  hylZ 

agem    though  he  was  once  in  some  da  ;er 
fHoL^rncI^^^"  ^'''  ^"-^^  '"- 

day  hi^   T'""^  "'   ^°''   N*^«"»^-  before 

Sto-        T   '""'■"'"^-      There   was 
great  reioicjnxr  there  *--*  -^-i- 

j       --3  -it^it?,  «v.t  uniy  0^-^  account  of 


112 


CATCHIN(i    A    TARTAFt. 


his  return,  but  of  the  ca])tivcs  he  brought 
with  him.  And  when  the  Major  and  his 
company  came  to  the  villa.<j;e  of  Bufialo  soon 
after,  they  were  welcomed  with  many  de- 
monstrations of  public  feelinir.  It  was  iron- 
ically announced  in  the  papers  jf  the  times, 
that  'Major  Chapin  who  lately  returned  from 
the  British  camp  persuaded  the  Captain  of 
the  Prince  Rc,c^ent  to  accompany  him,  with 
several  other  Englishmen.' 

'The  Major  was  undoubtedly  a  brave  man, 
though  his  courage  was  once  called  in  ques- 
tion by  one  who  in  the  mortification  of  de- 
feat, was  anxiously  looking  for  some  cause 
besides  his  own  want  of  foresight.  He  was 
engaged  in  many  of  the  light  skirmishes  du- 
ring the  summer  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Ni- 
ao-ara,  but  before  the  surprise  of  that  fortress 
he  had  returned  to  Builalo  where  his  family 
then  resided,  and  on  the  30th  of  December, 
1813,  when  that  town  was  taken  and  burnt, 
he  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  Montreal. 
Whether  in  peace  or  in  war,  he  was  a  man 
of  uncommon  energy  of  character. 

"It  was  the  fortune  of  the  Major  to  live 
to  a  good  old  age,  and  to  enjoy  the  freedom 


CATCHING    A    TARTAR.  HJ 

he  had  done  so  much  to  secure  and  preserve. 
H.s  remains  rest  in  the  beautiful  old  burial 
ground  m  the  City  of  Buftklo,  from  which 
may  be  seen  Lake  Erie  and  the  majestic 
waters  of  .he  Niagara,  which  separates  h! 

mIZ  '5'  '""T^  "'■"'"*  power  against 
which  he  had  marched  to  battle. 

'^is  friend  and  companion  Rodman,  staid 
at  Fort  Niagara  for  most  of  the  time,  only 
making  an  occasional  visit  to  his  home  to 
assist  in  cultivating  his  farm  and  gathering 
m  the  harvest,  till  the  surprise  of  the  fort  of 
which  I  shall  tell  you  in  the  next  chapter  " 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  SURPRISE. 


Our  travellers  were  still  stixnciing  upon  the 
ruins  of  old  Fort  George.  'J'lic  Captain  had 
proceeded  with  so  much  regularity  in  his 
narrative  of  events,  that  Harry  had  taken 
but  little  part  m  the  conversation;  and  the 
Captain  had  so  truly  related  to  him  the  lo- 
calities of  the  ditlerent  events  that  he  had 
no  need  to  ask  for  explanations. 

*'I  must  now  give  you  an  account,  Harry," 
said  the  Captain,  "of  the  last  act  in  the  trag- 
ical events  of  this  year.  While  the  Ameri- 
cans were  in  possession  of  this  fortress,  there 
was  a  continual  skirmishing  kept  up  between 
our  troops  and  the  British  and  Indians,  at- 
tended with  some  loss  on  both  sides,  and  oc- 
casionally with  those  acts  of  cruelty  and 
barbarity  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  which 
have  given  a  deep  and  everlasting  stain  to 
the  EuQ-lish  character. 

^'On  the  8th  of  July,  there  was  a  warm 
engagement  near  the  fort.     Our  pickets  had 


PV-    -  — !jrjp-i~ 


THE  si-nrnisR. 


115 


been  attacked  a„,l  drivon  in  by  the  British 
and  Indians.  A  dotachniont  of  about  Co  1 
men  was  ordered  to  proceed  under  the  com^ 

of  tic  pickets.  The  pickets,  Harrv  are 
guards  posted  in  front  of  a„  annv  to  .ive 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  cncinv'.  Thev 
are  probably  so  called  from  the  pointed  post^ 

u.dc  loitifications.     A  large  part v  was  pre- 
pann,    to  follow  to  In-s   assisstai-ice,    uifder 
Major  Malcolm,  but  before  it  had  e;me  up 
Lieutenant   EIdri<lge  had    been    led    by  hi' 
bravery    ,o    penetrate    into   a    thick    wood 
where  the  British  and  Indians  lav  in  a  much 
superior  force.     After  a  short  'but   gallant 
stru^oie   his  party  was  defeated,   onlv  five 
having  made   their  escape.     Thirteen'  were 
killed,  or  after  being  wounded  were  murder- 
ed and  mutilated  iu  tlie  most  barbarous  man- 
ner.    Their  entrails  were  drawn  from  their 

bodies  and  their  hearts  were  torn  out  and 
stuffed  m  then-  mouths,  and  otiier  indi-mities 
were  committed  upon  them  too  Iiorrible  to 
be   related.     Lieutenant   Eldridge   and   ten 
others  were  taken  prisoners,  and  were  never 


116 


THE    St'RPRISE. 


afterwards  heard  of,  and  it  wa?  supposed 
that  they  niet  the  same  fate  with  their  com- 
panions. 

"After  this  disaster  the  enemy  were  re- 
pelled,  though  with  considerable  loss.  Two 
of  the  five  men  of  Lieutenant  Eldrige,  who 
made  their  escape,  were  first  taken  prisoners. 
They  reported  that  the  British  were  painted 
like  Indians  with  streaks  of  red  and  green 
around  their  eyes.  They  told  them  they 
were  glad  they  had  been  taken,  and  that  they 
had' intended  to  desert  the  first  opportunity. 
They  carried  on  this  deception  so  well  that 
they  soon  found  an  opportunity  to  make  their 
escape,  and  reached  the  fort  in  safety. 

*'Fort  Georsre  was  at  that  time  under  the 
the  command  of  General  McCIure.  The 
enemy  had  their  head  quarters,  on  Burling- 
ton heights  at  the  head  of  the  lake.  Fre- 
quent skirmishing  was  i.c'l  w'th  the  enem.y 
from  that  time.  On  oiu'  occasion  Major 
Chapin  went  out  and  made  a  vigorous  attack 
upon  them.  This  was  the  same  man  who, 
sometime  before  persuaded  a  British  Lieuten- 
ant aid  fifteen  men  to  accompany  him  to 
Niagara,  when  they  had  orders  to  go  to 
Kingston. 


ti 


The  force  of  General  MrC] 


staiitly  diniinishiiio-,  and  on  ti 
cember  it  was  reduced  to  a  ha 
and  a  large  [)ody  of  tl 
iiim,  it  was  determined  by 
cers   to  abandon   the  fort.     Th 


U7 

ure  was  eon- 
le  iOth  of  De- 
ndfid  of  men: 


ic  ene 


niy  being  near 
a  couneil  of  offi- 

ri  ]       1  -ir  ,.,  '^'^^^'  i'e'treat  of 

Co  o„el  McCIure  vva.s  preceded  hv  a„  act  of 
fol  y  and  cruelty  which  ^vas  aiterward.,  ,er 

iMfhn,-;    ^"T       ^''^/^'''•'•cta'-yof  war  had 
authoned    h,n,    to   destroy    the    .,  illago   of 
^cwark  ,f  ,t  should   be  thought  .occ^sarv 
o.    the  defence  of  the  fort.     Tho  General 
supposing  that  he  was  directed  to  de  troy  it 
;"  ""''y  °^-*'"f'  .-'avo  tho  inhabitants  twelve 
hours  notice  to  retire  with  their  ejects,  when 
ho  set   ire  to  tho  town  and  blew  up  tin-  fort. 
He  had  scarcely  ti.ne  to  cross  the  river,   .av- 
•ng  hre  and  desolation  behind  him,  whoi.'thc 
British  force  made  their  appearance. 
"Aow  Harry,"  said  the  Captain,  "wo  .re 

done  with   the  view  and  the  description  of 
this  place,  let  us  cross  the  river  " 

'^Wh V  is  it  not  right,"  asked  Harry,  "ro 
an-n  tho  towns  of  the  cnen.y  as  well  as  t. 
iviii  then-  people?" 

•'Because/'  answered  the  Onnfo;.  u 
instance   the    bi 


tttiii. 


in  this 
^niing  of  Newark  was    not 


118 


THE    SURPRISE. 


necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  any 
ohject  we  had  in  view.  It  was  authorized 
to  be  destroyed  only  in  case  it  was  necessa- 
ry  for  the  defence  of  the  fort,  and  that  the 
Americans  had  already  determined  to  aban- 
don.  Many  families  were  driven  from  their 
homes  bv  the  burninc:  of  the  town,  without 
our  dcrivinof  any  benefit  from  it.  It  is  never 
necessary  to  make  war  against  women  and 
children.  Property  should  not  be  destroyed 
unless  something  is  to  be  gained  by  it." 

They  had  now  crossed  the  river,  and  stood 
once  more  within  the  walls  of  Fort  Niagara. 

"Here,"  said  the  Captain,  '"the  burning  of 
New^ark  was  terribly  avenged  on  the  17th  of 
December  1813.  About  four  o'clock,  on  the 
mornini!:  of  that  day  a  strono^  force  of  the 
enemy  under  Colonel  Murray,  crossed  the 
river  at  the  five  mile  meadows,  and  made 
their  way  undiscovered  and  completely  sur- 
prised the  fort.  Most  of  the  men  were 
asleep  at  the  time.  The  slaughter  was  truly 
horrible.  The  garrison  consisted  of  about 
three  hundred  men,  mostly  invalids,  eighty 
of  whom  v:ere  killed  bv  the  bayonet  and 
many   others   wounded!     Such   as   escaped 


THE    SURPIUSE. 


119 


of  any 
borized 
ecessa- 
lat  the 
3  aban- 
m  their 
vithout 
3  never 
en  and 
;troyed 

• 

d  stood 

i agar a. 

ning  of 

17th  of 

on  the 

of  the 

ed  the 

I  made 

ily  sur- 

1    were 

IS  truly 

about 

eiffhtv 

ct  and 

escaped 


fled  to  the  old  building  called  the  mess-houso, 
and  there  they  kept  up  their  fire  upon  the 
enemy  as  long  as  their  ammimition  lasted. 

"This  massacre  was  owing   to  the  gross 
neglect  or  treachery  of  Captain   Leonard, 
who  had  been  left  in  command  ut  the  fort 
Ever  smce  the   burning  of  x\evvark  it  had 
been  the  intention  of  the  British  to  n.ake  an 
attack  on  Fort  Niagara;  and  this  intention 
was  well   known  along  the  whole   fi-ontier 
It  was  even   stated  in  a  i-roclanuation  issued 
the  day  before  at  Bntlalo,  that  the  attack 
would  be  made  on  the  nineteenth,  and  yr> 
the  officer  m  command  was   absent  at   ihc 
time  of  the  attack,  having  left  the  fort  about 
eleven  o'clock  the  night  before,  and  that  too, 
so  far  as  was  known,  without  being  called 
away  by  any  peculiar  emergency.     And  it 
was  even  stated  in  the  papers  at  the  time 
that  the  gates  were  left  open,  and  that  the 
enemy  entered  without   the   least  obstruc- 
tion." 

"Where  were  the  sentinels?"  asked  Harry. 

"It  was  not  exactly  known,"  answered  the 
Captain.  "It  was  supposed  however,  that 
they  had  either  neglected  their  duty,  or  that 


120 


THE    SURPRISE. 


they  were  attacked  and  killed  before  thcv 
could  give  the  alarm.  The  ail'air  happened 
in  the  night  and  there  was  so  much  confusion 
there  the  next  morning  wlien  day-light  ap- 
peared, that  nothing  certain  could  be  ascer- 
tained." 

"In  what  part  of  the  fort  were'  vouf 
asked  llarrv. 

"I  was  in  the  barracks/'  answered  the 
Captain.  "Things  are  so  changed  here  since 
that  time  that  I  cannot  exactly  tell  the  spot. 
It  was  near  where  that  ffun  is  standing,  von- 
der.  I  was  one  of  the  party  that  escaped  to 
that  old  building  where  we  kep^t  up  our  lire 
till  our  cartridges  were  exhausted,  when,  the 
enemy  by  this  time  having  possession  of  the 
magazine,  v/c  could  get  no  more.  We  then 
tried  to  scale  the  walls;  but  so  terrible  were 
the  thrusts  of  British  bayonets  and  the  blows 
of  Indian  tomahawks,  that  but  twenty  sue- 
ceedod  of  nhom  I  was  one,  and  the  rest  were 
obliged  to  surrender. 

"There  are  times,  Harry,  when  the  heart 
of  the  soldier  almost  tails  him.  When  he 
goes  to  his  rest  at  night  thinking  himself  se- 
cure; and  is  surprised  and  reduced  to  bond- 


G 


they 
ppened 
nl'usion 
]flit  ap- 
)  ascer- 


ed  the 
e  saice 
10  spot. 
g,  yon- 
aped  to 
our  fire 
icn,  the 
I  of  the 
^^e  then 
ie  were 
e  blows 
ity  suc- 
st  were 

e  heart 
hen  he 
self  se- 
0  bond- 


'^HE    ST  RPUi.sjj. 


121 


age  in  an  hour,  the  shouts  of  ihn 

found   a wfblly   harsh   t!;,.t^    'r^"?"^^'^^'« 


ave  endured   to  have  h( 


^''*^'&'.     I  could 


'^^  most  of 


^ut  to  find  th 
were  killed  by  a  t[ 
terribie  bi 


■en   taken 
*^^v  brave 


sone 
com 


r 


irust  of  the  bayonet 

the':'T,-:T:5^^^^^'-^^--i.ht 


This  fort] 


of  the  British  and  J 


■^'^•^  was  iu  tlu 


ados 
\vas 


was 


remnant  of  ou 


nd. 


^i^^;  but  a 


that  old   buiJd 


woimdcd. 


'  ''-^^n  was  left  penned 
^^Jg,    'dnd   some  of  th 


possession 
Jiiiserable 


^^i^d  withm    th 


up  hi 
em  Were 


ground  was  covered  with   th 


G    iort    the  whole 


dead.     It 


^all   by  the   British 


was  not  enough  that  tl 


e  bodies  of  th( 


ley  sliould 


tomahawl 


wl 


able   to  defend   tl 
must  finish  the 


len  taken   h 


^'^youci  and   the  Lid 


lan 


y  surprise  and   un- 


and  mutilatinrr  the  bod 


^^^I^^sehes;   but   the  Ind 
y  by  seal] 


^^ork  of  barb, 


irit 


Jes  of  the  slai 


ians 


.-r;;:^=--™::"=^^. 


tlieir  friends  had  ihll 


\  o/licers  to  see  who 


am 


reyal  and 


s 


avage  butcher 


^^^^  by  the  hands  Of  these 


i'ound  and  their  hea 
^^ght.     In  an  old  b 


Th 


cy  went  all 


r^s  were  sick  with  th 


wher 


'e  wr» 


uild 


"ig  which  w 


'IS  near 


'^^-  stand,  v.as  the  body  of  Rod- 


11 


m 


122 


Tim    SlJKPRIaiE. 


man.     It  is  painliil  at  iiny  time  to  see  the 
dead  body  of  a  fellow  soldier.     But  this  was 
the   most  distressing    sight    they  had    seen. 
He  had  either  been  sittnig  upon  a  bcneh  at 
the  baek  side  of  the  room,  or  had  fallen  back 
upon  it  in  endeavoring  to  avoid  the  thrusts 
of  the  enemy,  when  he  received  his  mortal 
wound.     A  bayonet  had  been   thrust  quite 
through  his  body  and  into  the  plank  ceiling 
behind  him.     There  he  was,  and  one  other 
with  him  in  the  same  condition,  hrndy  spiked 
to  the  wall.     After  the  fatal  thrusts  had  been 
given,  the   guns   had  been  withdrawn  from 
the  bayonets   leaving   their  victims    to  die. 
with  a^  refinement  of  cruelty   hitherto  un- 
known,  except  in   savage  warfare.     I  saw 
them  the  next  day  and   before  they  were 
moved.     I   would   not  willingly   look   upon 
such  a  sight  again.     I  can  almost  sec  them 
now,    their  eyes   glaring  with   the   look  ol 
death,   and  their  features  strained  up  to  a 
most  horrible  ferocity,  as  if,  from  the  energy 
of  their  feelings,  they  had  strongly  resisted 

death. 

^'The  death  of  Rodman  was  a  most  unhap- 
py one,  both  from  the  manner  in  which  it  [ 


TIIR    SlRPniSK. 


123 


occurred,  an.l  fn,m  other  circnmsfnnco.s. 
rho  ponod  of  his  o„h-stmc„t  had  expired, 
and  he  intended  to  return  to  liis  family  the 
next  day.  He  },ad  been  visited  by  one  of 
...s  neighbors  the  day  before  and  had  inform- 
ed ln,n  of  his  iiitention.  The  messacre  l,ad 
ah-cady  been  borne  to  his  fannlv,  and  when 
his  coming  was  looked  for,  thJir  ears  were 
pained  by  the  story  of  his  death. 

"But  cruelty  had  not  yet  done  enough. 
Un  tlio  same  morning  a  detachment  of  mili- 
tia under  Major  Bennett,  stationed  on  Lew- 
■ston  heights,  were  attacked  by  the  Indians. 
He  retreated  after  being  surrounded  by  sev- 
eral hundreds  with  the  loss  of  six  or  eiM.t 
among  whom  were  two  sons  of  Captain  Jolies 
the  Indian  Interpreter.     Youngstown,  Lew- 
iston,  Manchester  and  the  Tuscarora  villac-c 
were  burnt,  and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as 
were  unable  to  make  their  escape  were  mur- 
dered by  the  Indians,  who  were  led  on  by 
British  officers  painted.     Even  women  and 
children  were  slain  and  their  scalps  taken 
and  carried  away  as  trophies  of  victory 

''Major  Mallory  who  had  been  stationed 
at  Schlosser  with  forty  volunteers,  hastened 


•Ml 


( 


124 


THE    SURPRISE. 


to  Lewiston,  and  compelled  the  advance 
guard  of  the  enemy  to  fall  back  to  the  foot 
of  the  mountain.  With  his  httle  band  he 
fought  for  two  days  with  trifling  loss,  dispu- 
ting every  inch  of  ground  with  the  enemy 
till  he  reached  Tonawanda. 

''It  would  seem  that  the  destruction  of 
Newark  was  now  fully  avenged.  Even  Sir 
George  Prevost,  the  Governor  General  of 
Canada,  stated  in  his  proclamation  a  few^ 
days  after,  that  'the  opportunity  of  punish- 
ment had  occurred,  and  that  a  full  measure 
of  retribution  had  taken  place,"  and  at  the 
same  time  he  confessed  the  wickedness  of 
their  acts  by  declaring  his  intention  of  'pur- 
suing no  further  a  system  of  warfare  so  re- 
volting to  his  own  feelings.'  " 

"What  was  done  with  the  prisoners?"  ask- 
ed Harry. 

"They  were  kept  for  two  days  in  the  fort 
with  little  or  no  food,  and  with  but  a  scanty 
supply  of  w^ood  and  water.  After  that  they 
were  taken  across  the  river,  and  confined  in 
an  old  building  that  had  been  the  magazine 
at  Fort  George.  Here  their  sufferings  were 
very  great.     Fo.r  a  whole  week  were  tliey 


THE  %IRPRISE.  125 

kept  crowded  into  dirty  and  damp  rooms  in- 
fested with  vermin.     They  were  then  taken 
to  Queenston  and  confined  there,  and  kept 
on  the  most  loathsome  food.     And  to  the 
dishonor  of  the  British  name  it  must  be  said, 
that  American  prisoners  within  sight  of  the 
Niagara  river  and  on  its  very  banks,  were 
obliged  to  suffer  the  pains  of  thirst,  or  buy 
with  money  a  drink  of  water.     A  f^^w  of  the 
prisoners  were  soon  after  discharged,  and 
the  rest  were   marched   off  to   Burhngton 
heights."  * 

Harry  asked  if  such  treatment  of  prison- 
ers, and  more  especially  tiie  cruel  murder  of 
those  at  the  fort  was  justified  by  the  British 
government. 

"1  dont  know"  said  the  Captain,  "that  any 
apology  was  ever  made  for  it;  and  Lieuten- 
ant General  Drummond,  the  same  day  issued 
orders  m  which  he  stated  the  number  of  the 
killed  and  wounded,  and  that  they  had  all 
been  killed  by  the  bayonet,  and  openly  com- 
mending his  officers  and  men  for  the  faith- 
falness  with  which  they  had  executed  his 
orders."  jj# 


111! 


11— I 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE   FLIGHT. 


The  surprise  of  Fort  Niagara  was  follow- 
ed by  the  desolation  of  the  whole  j\iaf]:ara 
frontier.  The  few  soldiers  who  escaped 
from  the  fort  spread  the  alarm,  and  the  in- 
habitants fled  with  the  greatest  precipitation. 
But  the  British  and  the  Indians  were  close 
on  the  heels  of  the  livintr  soldiers.  The  in- 
habitants  made  no  resistance.  The  war- 
hoop  of  four  hundred  savages,  led  on  by  the 
painted  British  otiicers,  was  given  with  ter- 
rible effect.  Thev  hastily  seized  such  li^ht 
articles  as  they  were  able  to  carry  from  their 
houses,  and  left  the  rest  to' the  pillage  of  the 
savages  and  the  British  soldiery;  "or  to  be  by 
them  consigned  to  the  flames.  Many  could 
look  back  upon  the  blaze  and  the  smoke  of 
their  burninix  dwellinn-s.  But  few  were  able 
to  take  any  thing  with  them  but  the  clothes 
they  wore.  The  roads  in  every  direction 
that  led  from  the  frontier  were  filled  with 
men  women  and  children. 


Th, 


*!» 


THE    PLIGHT. 


127 


for 


scene  of  distress  was  too  deep  ,or 
descnption      In   some   cases   husbands   and 
Wives  and  brothers  and  sisters  were  spara- 
ted,   and   mothers   had  lost   their  children, 
l.es  were  broken  that  were  never  more  to 
be  reunited  in  this  world.     Men   are  now 
iivmg  who   wore   infants    then,    and   were 
borne  in  the  arms  of  their  fainting  mothers 
that  day.     And  some  owe  their  lives  to  ex- 
eftions  which  caused  the  death  of  their  na- 
tural guardian  and  protector.     The  affection 
of  the  iiiother  ^voarics  not  in  the  care  of  her 
child,   though  her  strength  may  fail.     Her 
physical  powers  have  limits  set  to  them,  but 
the  love  of  her  offspring  is   not  only  never 
destroyed  but  never  diminished. 

The  reign  of  terror  was  not  limited  to  the 
scene  of  ruin.     All  that  portion  of  country 
ying  east  of.  the  Niagara  river  and  within 
the  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  miles,   which 
then  contained  a  population  of  near  twelve 
thousand  persons  was  for  a  short  time   al- 
most adandoned,  and  the  people  were  in' the 
greatest  distress.     Those  who  returned  to 
their  homes  found  there  but  a  heap  of  smok- 
ing ruins.    Committees  were  raised  in  all 


,#1 


■>j'',i 


128 


THE    FLIGHT. 


'  parts  of  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing contributions  to  reieive  the  sufferers. 
The  City  of  Albany  contributed  one  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  an  appropriation  of  forty 
thousand  dollars  was  made  by  the  state. 
Collections  were  also  taken  up  in  the  different 
churches  in  the  City  of  New  York  and  in 
Albany. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  tiiis  event  oc- 
curred in  the  beginning  of  a  severe  winter. 
The  sufferings  of  the  people  were  much 
more  severe  on  that  account.  But  the  char- 
ities which  had  been  dispensed  did  much  to 
to  alleviate  them.  The  wounded  feet,  which 
had  left  their  blood-traces  on  the  frozen 
ground,  could  be  healed.  But  the  broken 
hearts  of  the  mothers  who  had  lost  their 
children  from  exposure  were  never  to  be 
made  whole.  These  were  hard  times,  Har- 
ry. Men  who  had  come  to  the  country  a 
few  years  before,  and  after  suffenng  severe 
trials  and  privations,  were  beginning  to  ac- 
cumulate some  of  the  comforts  of  life,  were 
driven  from  their  homes,  and  their  dwelhngs, 
which  were  the  hard-earned  fruits  of  their 
ioil,  were  in  a  moment  reduced  to  a  heap 


of  ru 

settle 

and 

they 

whicJ 

Gr( 

they 

by  th( 

ties  w 

going 

tarnec 

ed  as 

ling  tc 

Nei 

appeal 

the  ro 

on  hor 

were  < 

childre 

down 

with  bs 

ing  ha 

childre] 

were  di 

was  ev 

with  th 

pursuer 


tr,' 


THE    FLIGHT. 


129 


Of  rums.  In  emigrating  from  a  more  thickly 
settled  country,  they  had  encountered  great 
and  almost  incredible  hardships,  but  now 
hey  were  leaving  the  places  of  their  homes 
which  were  homes  to  them  no  more 

Great  as  was  the  actual  danger  from  which 
hey  had  escaped,  it  was  greatly  magnified 
.y  their  fears.  They  met  several  small  par- 
ties who,  Ignorant  of  what  had  passed,  were 
going  towards  the  frontier,  but  they  all 
turned  back,  and  thus  .their  numbers  increas- 
ed as  they  went  like  the  waters  of  the  swel- 
ling torrent. 

Neither  pen  nor  pencil  can  describe  the 
appearance  of  the  motley  throngs  that  filled 
the  roads  m  every  direction.  A  few  were 
on  horseback,  but  by  far  the  greater  number 
were  on   foot.     Some  were  carrying  their 

children  on  their  backs,  some  were  loaded 
down  with  bundles  of  clothing,  and  some 
with  bags  of  provisions.  Others  were  draw- 
ing hand-sleds  loaded  ^th  goods  or  with 
children  and  infirm  persons.  Others  again 
were  driving  their  cattle  before  them.  There 
was  every  description  of  persons  all  filled 

With  the  one  idpa   nf  ^c^^^: r...       .,    . 

pursuers.  * 


ISO 


THE    FLIGHT. 


At  night  every  house  by  the  way  was  fil- 
led to  overflowing,  and  men,  women  and 
children  were  stretched  upon  the  floor  till 
room  for  another  could  not  be  found,  and 
then  tl  .y  divided  with  horses  and  cattle  the 
possession  of  every  barn  and  hovel  to  be 
found.  One  might  almost  believe  that  the 
very  horses  laughed  at  the  strange  variety  and 
uncouth  appearance  of  their  companions. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE   BURIAL. 


The  next  day  when  the  sound  of  the  war- 
hoop  had  a  JittJe  subsided,    those  who  es^ 
caped  began  to  think  of  the  bodies  of  their 
friends  who  had  fallen.     A  few  of  the  braver 
ones  crept  cautiously  out  from  the  places  of 
their  retreat,  and  bent  their  way  slowly  and 
warily  back  to  the  settlements  near  the  river. 
Many  bodies  were  found  of  men  women  and 
children,  all  of  which  were  scalped,  and  most 
of  them  otherwise  mutilated.     Some  were 
even  so  much  disfigured  that  they  could  not 
be  recognized  by  their  friends.     Here  and 
there  was  found  one  whose  name  and  resi- 
dence was  known.     The  distress  of  the  liv- 
ing was  so  great  that  it  almost  seemed  as  if 
those  who  had  fallen  by  the  tomahawk  had 
been  the  most  fortunate. 

'*  What  became  of  the  bodies  of  those  who 
were  murdered  at  the  fort?"  asked  Harry. 

"A  few  persons,"  answered  the  Captain, 
''•who  had  known  most  of  them  w^nt  back 


132 


THE    BURIAL. 


there,  carrying  with  them  a  white  tkig,   and 
reached   the  fort   unmolested.     They  were 
permitted  to  enter,  and  they  found  that  the 
bodies  of  the  dead,  by  the  request  of  those 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners  and  were  then 
detained  there,  were  left  for  recognition  by 
their  friends.     All  of  them,  about  eighty  in 
number,  had  been  killed  by  the  bayonet  and 
the  hatchet.     It  was  a  terrible  sight  to  be- 
hold.    There  is  a  peculiar  ferocity   in   the 
countenance  of  a  man   who   has   died  by  a 
stab  from  the  bayonet.     Those  who  are  shot 
present  an  appearance  of  languor,  the  mus- 
cles of  the   body   appearing   to   be  entirely 
relaxed.     The  muscles  of  those  killed  by  the 
bayonet   are  rigid,    and    their   features*  are 
braced  up  to  a  look  of  determination  and  re- 
sistance.    This  appearance,  in  many  of  them, 
was  heightend  by  the  loss  of  their  scalps,  * 
And  then  too  the  wounds  with  which  they 
fell,  like  the  dumb  mouths  of  the  murdered 
Caesar,  told  of  the  terrible  ferocity  of  their 
royal  murderers. 

*'Some  were  borne  away  by  their  friends 
in  the  stillness  of  their  grief,  and  quietly  bu- 
ried not  far  from  the  fort.     Others  whose 


THE    BURIAL. 


i 


133 


friends  Jived  near  the  frontier  were  carried 
by  them  to  their  homes,  and  there  buried  in 
some  spot  which  they  could  ever  watch  and 
hoJd  sacred.  The  rest  were  left  to  be  dis- 
posed  of  by  their  British  butchers." 

"Can  we  find  any  of  their  graves?"  asked 
Harry.  "I  like  to  look  upon  the  spot  where 
a  soldier  is  buried." 

"The  face  of  things  is  changed  since  then  » 
replied  the  Captain;  "and  the  place  of  their 
burial  cannot  be  found.     No  stones  or  marks 
were  put  at  their  graves.     It  would  have 
been  useless,  and  perhaps  worse  than  useless, 
i  hey  might  have  been  torn  away  by  the 
British  soldiers,  lest  the  burial  place  of  those 
martyrs  to  liberty  should   be  known,  ^md 
should  serve  to  call  to  mind,  in  after  ages, 
the  awful  story  of  British  vengeance." 

"That,  I  think  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  " 
answered  Harry.  ' 

"No,  it  will  not.     There  was  something 
in  that  burial  scene,  so  solemn  and  almost 
terrific,  that  I  shall  never  forget  it.    A  fu-  ■ 
neral  is  always  a  sad  ceremony.     I  had  seen 
thm  m  the  old  towns  in  New  England,  when 
a-  .«e  relatives,  and  neighbors,  and  friends 

13 


134 


THE    BURIAL. 


of  him  who  had  died,  would  stand  around 
with  closed  lips,  and  the  hushed  voices  of 
the  few  whose  words  found  utterance,  would 
only  speak  of  the  virtues  of  the  dead.  All 
was  conducted  with  a  slow  formality  and  a 
decent  respect.  The  coffin  was  laid  upon 
the  rustic  bier  and  borne  away  to  the  little 
church,  where  such  religious  ceremonies 
were  performed  as  were  deemed  to  be  for  the 
benefit  of  the  living.  And  then,  the  last  look 
at  the  face  of  the  dead!  this  was  a  painful 
trial  to  all,  to  say  nothing  of  the  distress  of 
relatives  and  friends.  Slowly  and  one  by 
one,  they  looked  their  last  adieu  to  their  de- 
parted friend,  and  then  all  the  little  girls, 
with  faces  radiant  with  the  light  and  the  love 
which  is  from  heaven,  but  softened  and  sub- 
dued by  the  sorrow  of  earth,  would  come 
up  and  take  their  last  look  also,  and  as  they 
walked  away,  I  could  see  their  cheeks  were 
wet  with  the  tears  which  are  always  the  birth 
of  young  and  innocent  grief." 

"0  I. have  seen  such  tbings  too,"  said 
Harry;  and,  as  he  said  it,  a  tear  stole  from 
his  eve. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Captain,  <'such  were  solemn 
scenes.     But  when  1  lirst  saw  a  burial  in  this 


■  ■^i.  t,i 


THE    BUnUL. 


135 


country,  when  neighbors  were  few  and  far 
distant,  and  no  church  was  here,  and  there 
was  no  minister  to  offer  to  the  mourners  the 
consolations  of  religion,  and  the  dead  were 
buned  in  a  lonely  looking  place-lonely  it 
seemed  because  there  were  none  of  the  white 
marble  stones  which  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  see— O,  It  was  afar  more  solemn  event 

"And   then  too  when  I  have  heard  the 
solemn  music  of  the  muffled  drum  marching 
to  the  soldier's  grave,  and  the  guns  that  were 
fired  over   it   in   testimony  of  his  valor,  I 
thought  that  nothing  could  increase  the  sub- 
limity  of  the  scene.     But  the  burial  at  Ni- 
agara was  more  solemn  than  any  1  had  ever 
witnessed.     The  relatives  of  the  dead  were 
not  there,  and  even  the  names  of  some  that 
we  buned  were  unknown.     Here  was  nei- 
ther the  parson  to  pray  for  the  souls  of  the 
dead,  nor  the  pall  to  cover  their  bodies;  and 
the  coffin  and  the  shroud  were  wanting  also. 
The  soldier  who  dies  in  the  hour  of  victory 
may  be  wrapped  in  the  flag  of  the  coi.quered 
loe.     But  these  in  their  war-worn  garments 
alone  were  laid  in  the  ground.     The  notes  of 
--^xi.ui  muciu  were  not  heard, 


136 


THE    BURIAL. 


*But  our  hearts  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still  like  muffled  drums  were  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave.' 

If  friends  could  have  been  round  us  to  weep 
and  join  their  sorrows  with  ours,  it  would 
have  been  a  relief  to  our  feelings.  Then  I 
thought  of  the  sweet  faces  of  the  little  girls 
I  used  to  see  bending  over  the  dead.  I 
could  not  have  wished  that  they  had  been 
here,  their  httle  hearts  would  have  been  so 
pained  with  the  sight.  But  I  have  often 
thought  that  the  spirits  of  those  who  are 
looked  upon  by  them  before  they  are  com- 
mitted to  the  ground,  must  feel  a  gush  of 
happiness,  and  be,  by  the  sympathies  of  those 
so  young  and  innocent,  brought  nearer  to 
heaven;  and  I  pray  that  when  I  die  the  eyes 
of  such  may  follow  me  to  the  grave. 

**A11  the  time  this  sorrowful  work  was 
going  on  we  were  closely  watched  by  the 
British,  and  the  indifference  which  they  man- 
ifested seemed  to  be  a  mockery  of  our  feel- 
ings. Our  last  duty  to  our  companions  was 
performed,  rudely  it  is  true,  but  in  the  best 
manner  we  were  able,  and  we  turned  our 
backs  upon  the  fort,  glad  to  escape  from  a 
scene  so  painful  to  our  feelings.'^ 


"I 

of  SO] 

fled  ] 
tell  y 
than  ^ 
man.'' 

**I 

Harr}^ 

them  1 

^•I  1 

tain,  '' 

the  wi 

turn,  s 

death. 

holvda 

receive 

sweet 

to  look 

departe 

beings  c 

them  th( 


CHAPTER  XII.    , 

THE  WIDOWED  MOTHER. 

"I  must  tell  you  in  the  next  place,  Harrv 

o  some  ,nciden,s  that  occurred  to  those  who 

fl  d  fro™   ,he  frontier.     Perhaps   I   cannot 

ell  you  one  that  will  be  more  interesting 

than  what  happened  to  the  fa„>ily  of  Rod 

Ha'rrv'''°?h'"'  T"''  '°  ""'''  ''^'''"  ^^'^ 
Harry        I  have  become  much  interested  in 

them  from  knowing  the  story  of  his  death." 

tain   <?r?  f ''''^  '"'"^  >'*'"'"  «'»'''  »he  Cap- 
tam,    that  almost  at  the  very  moment  when 

he  Wife  of  Rodman  was  looking  fer  his  re- 
turn she  was  startled  with  the  news  of  his 
deat.  She  had  clothed  her  children  in  the" 
holyday  dresses,  and  they  .were  waiting  to 
receive  their  father's  kiss.  Thev  were  two 
sweet  imie  girls,  such  as  I  hop;  will  coma 
to  look  upon  me  when  I  am  dead;  and  if  the 

departed  are  permitted  to  hnhnU c  .l^ 

beings  of  earth,  I  believe  that  I  sjj  see  ia 
them  the  aagcJs  of  heaven." 


if] 


138 


THE    WIDOWED   MOTHER. 


Harry  said  he  should  Uke  to  have  seen 
these  httle  girls,  and  then  he  paused  a  mo- 
ment and  looked  thoughtful,  and  it  was  easy 
to  discover  that  he  had  in  his  mind  the  im- 
ages of  his  young  friends  Alice  and  Lucy 
Gray. 

**But  I  must  go  on  with  the  story,"  said 
the  Captain.  '*The  wife  of  Rodman,  Clara, 
as  he  always  called  her,  had  no  sooner  heard 
of  the  death  of  her  husband,  than  she  was 
warned  to  flee  from  the  approaching  enemy. 
Taking  her  children,  the  youngest  one  in  her 
arms  and  leading  the  other  by  the  hand,  she 
hurried  away.  The  wind  was  blowing  rough 
and  cold,  and  there  was  some  snow  upon  the 
ground.  It  was  a  sorry  sight  to  see  the 
mother  pressing  on  with  her  children,  her 
arm  almost  breaking  under  the  load  of  one, 
and  the  other,  straining  her  little  hand  which 
was  held  tightly  in  the  grasp  of  the  mother's, 
was  scarcely  able  to  make  her  steps  long 
enough  to  keep  up  with  her  rapid  pace.  At 
first  they  rather  flew  than  walked,  and  they 
scarcely  dared  to  look  behind  for  fear  of 
losing  a  single  step  in  their  escape  from  the 


sav 


ago 


iuca* 


THE    WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


139 


''All  day  they  fled  before  the  enemy,  but 
long  before  night  the  child  she  led  had  be-^ 
come  chilled  with  the  cold,  and  her  shoes, 
which  were  rapidly  worn  away  by  the  rough- 
ness of  the  frozen  ground,  had  fallen  from 
her  feet.      The   child   was   exhausted  and 
could  go  no  further;  and  the  mother  was 
scarcely  in  a  better  condition.     She  had  al- 
most fallen  down  with  the  effort  of  carrying 
one  child  and  leading  the  other.     To  carry 
them  both  was  impossible.    .There  were  sev- 
eral others  in  company  with  her,  and  all 
but  one  whose  strength  was  at  all  equal  to 
the  task  were  already  burdened  with  a  child, 
and  that  one  was  loaded  with  a  large  bundle 
of  clothing  which  would  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  comfort  of  the  party.     What 
was  to  be  done?    Tt  was  getting  late  in  the 
day  and  they  were  a  long  distance  from  any 
settlement.     They  might  have  struck  a  fire 
and  the  whole  party  encamped  for  the  night, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  fear  of  the  enemv! 
But  this  would  not  do.     It  was  not  safe  to 
waste  time  by  deliberation,  and  it  was  at 
once  determined  that  the  bundle  should  be 
left  behind,  and  that  the  man  who  had  car- 


jm 


140 


THE   WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


ried  it  should  carry  the  child.  It  was  con- 
cealed under  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  in 
the  hope  that  they  might  be  able  to  find  it 
again  when  the  enemy  should  have  given  up 
the  pursuit.  This  being  arranged  they  again 
pushed  forward.  They  had  not  proceeded 
far  when  the  strength  of  the  mother  again 
failed,  and  she  was  obliged  to  give  up  the 
march,  and  sit  down  by  the  way-side.  The 
young  man  who  had  taken  one  of  her  chil- 
dren would  have  stopped  with  her.  but  she 
refused  it  telling  him  that  if  they  were  dis- 
covered all  might  be  killed;  but  that  if  he 
kept  on  he  might  save  himself  and  one  of 
her  children. 

*'Self  preservation  was  of  necessity  the 
law  that  prevailed,  and  with  this  in  view  the 
party  moved  on  leaving  the  mother  and  child 
almost  with  the  certainty  as  they  thought  of 
being  murdered  by  the  Indians  or  of  perish- 
ing with  cold  and  hunger.  She  sat  herself 
down  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  upon  the  folds  of 
a  single  blanket  she  had  with  her,  and  was 
in  some  degree  protected  by  its  trunk  from 
the  chill  wind  that  was  blowing.     There, 


dev 


THE    WIDOWED   MOTHER.  HJ 

it    were  the    last    tie   that  bound    her  to 
life,  for  the  first  time  since  hearing  of  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  wept.     She  had 
before  been  so  filled  with  a  sense  of  her  own 
danger,  that  she  had  not  fully  realized  her 
Joss.     Now   that  she  was   alone  with  her 
child,  she  recalled  to  her  mind  the  image  of 
Its  father.     You  can  have  some  idea,  Harry 
of  the  appearance  of  a  country  that  has  been 
devastated  by  the  torch  of  an  enemy  but 
you  can  form  no  conception  of  the  desolation 
of  spint  which  then  hung  over  that  woman. 
If  her  child  could  that  moment  have  died  in 
her  arms  she  would  herself  have  prayed  for 
death      For  the  sake  of  her  children  only 
did  she  live."  ^ 

^'What  became  of  her  after  that?"  asked 
Harry. 

"I  will  tell  you.  She  had  found  relief  to 
her  feelings  in  tears.  The  agony  of  her  soul 
had  given  way  to  a  softened  sorrow,  and  in 
this  frame  of  mind  she  fell  asleep.  How 
ong  she  slept  is  not  known.  She  dreamed 
that  she  was  pursued  by  savages  and  was 
hkely  to  be  taken;  and  while  she  thought 

she  was  annmnoIiQi^   :»-,,  -,  x_ii     i  •   /»      .  . 

-„^.-  ,.x„^«  ^^  ^  i^^^  cniei  witn  up- 


142 


THE    WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


lifted  hatchet,  she  uttered  a  scream  which 
caused  her  to  awake,  when  she  saw  standing 
beside  her  with  his  hand  upon  her  shoulder 
the  same  large  and  muscular  savage  she  had 
seen  in  her  dream;  and  two  others  were 
standing  near  by. 

*'From  the  appearance  of  the  savages  it 
was  rather  doubtful  what  their  intentions 
were  towards  her.  With  an  effort  at  a 
smile  she  drew  the  blanket  from  the  face  of 
her  child,  and  gave  it  to  the  chief.  A  few 
words  passed  between  him  and  the  other  In- 
dians which  she  did  not  understand.  She 
was  afraid  they  were  jealous  of  him  for  the 
'  gift  he  had  received.  She  thought  of  the 
bundle  of  clothing  that  had  been  concealed, 
and  knowing  that  it  contained  some  blankets 
she  thought  to  appease  the  others  by  gifts. 
With  a  signal  made  to  the  chief  she  arose 
and  conducted  him  to  the  place  where  the 
bundle  was  concealed.  It  was  eagerly  open- 
ed and  the  blankets  distributed  among  the 
three  Indians,  when  they  started  and  made 
a  sign  to  her  to  follow.  Though  she  had 
not  tasted  food  since  morning  her  strength 
was  somewhat  recovered  by  rest  and  sleep. 


THE    WIDOWED   MOTHER.  I43 

She  knew  that  if  she  faltered  there  would 
be  danger  e.ther  to  herself  or  to  her  child. 
The  thought  of  this  gave  her  courage  and 

Th.?H-      '"  u"  '^^P  "P  ^'"•''"gh  the  day 
The  Indmns  then  halted  and  made  a  fire  for 

then.ght.     It  was  now  dark  and  the  blazing 
pile  gave  a  distinctness  to  every  tree  and 

mound.     The  child  had  fallen  asleep  and  no 
vio  ence  or  rudeness  had  been  offered  to  Z 

tion  of  the  chief  to  detain  her  as  a  prisoner 
and  make  her  his  wife.  P"soner 

,vi!'^''^^  '!"''  "°*  ^""^  '°  "■««'  for  the  night 

ted  by  the  hght  came  up  having  an  American 

and  her  ohTr     "^  ''"'"'  «'  '"^^  -<""«« 
and  her  child  but  said  nothing,  and  she  was 

a  so   silent;   and  when  they  had  all   fain 

asleep  Clara  rose  quietly  and  passing  round 

boy  lay,  she  gently  touched  his  arm,  at  the 

theI'lLrf*"^'''^^^^'''"''«'>P-'d 

aw  hv  J  ""'  '''P'  ''""'^^y  ^"d  he  soon 

saw  by  her  motions  that  she  wished  to  take 

ieave  of  ho**  ^.^ «--       '      - 

«e.  .vuipaniuns;  aim  gathering  up 


144 


THE    WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


the  clothing  the  bundle  had  contained,  except 
the  blankets  which  were  wrapped  about  the 
bodies  of  the  Indians,  they  moved  carefully 
away  with  a  sidelong  step  for  a  considerable 
distance,  when  they  turned  their  backs  upon 
the  Indian  camp,  and  moved  hastily  forward. 

*'Soon  after  it  began  to  snow,  and  though 
this  gave  them  some  inconvenience,  they 
rejoiced  at  it,  as  it  would  eflectually  prevent 
the  Indians  from  following  their  track.  Clara 
had  gathered  strength  from  the  brief  period 
of  rest  she  had  enjoyed  and  resolution  from 
the  hope  of  escaping  with  her  child,  and  so 
she  was  enabled  to  keep  on  through  the 
night. 

^'In  the  morning  their  eyes  were  gladdened 
by  the  sight  of  smoke  from  the  chimney  of 
a  log  hut.  They  however  approached  it 
warily  fearing  that  its  rightful  occupants  had 
fled  and  that  it  was  then  in  the  possession  of 
savages.  While  they  were  watching  it,  still 
in  doubt,  they  saw  a  white  man  come  to  the 
door,  and  they  no  longer  hesitated  to  ap- 
proach. They  found  that  their  first  suppo- 
sition was  conect  that  the  occupants  of  the 
house  had  fled,  but  the  present  inmates  were. 


iC 


THE  WIDOWED  MOTHEK.       I45 

|ike  themselves,  a  party  who  had  fled  from 

nat7?o?rT*'""^  1*.  ''^^  P'*"^  ^^«  f*>""- 
Zll  .p'f'*  «"'•  her  child,  for  she  was 
both  enabled  to  warm  herself  and  to  procure 
food      Without  this  she  would  h^rbee: 

o te?  ""^r  '"  T'''  ''''  ^  ^^'-'  ^ 
longer.     She   was   also  relieved  from   the 

"When    she    had  enjoyed    the    ffra.pf,,! 
warmth  of  the  fire  and  ha'd  bee    a  St 

had  escaped  from  the  enemy,  she  gave  way 
to  her  feehngs.  She  now  began  to  feel  she 
was  a  w.dow,  and  that  her  ehildren  were 
fatherless.  When  a  wo„,an  is  i„  real  danTer 
her  courage  is  of  a  higher  order  than  thaf  of 
-est  men.    N^^jy  ^ad  she  sustained  he  Llf 

wheth.  i.  ,,, ,,,  com;;nT:h:fora 

at  the  log  hut  supposed  themselves  not  yet 
out  of  danger,  or  for  the  purpose  of  JZ 
Where  they  would  h^  .ki.  J..  _..  _         ^  "^ 

18 


146 


THE    WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


ions,  that  they  determined  to  go  futher  into 
the  interior,  is  not  known.  Clara  and  the 
boy  who  had  escaped  with  her  from  the  In- 
dians, also  resolved  to  go  ©n.  But  when  she 
raised  her  child  in  her  arms  she  found  herself 
unable  to  sustain  it  and  keep  up  with  the 
party.  The  boy  felt  that  he  owed  his  es- 
cape from  the  Indians  to  her,  and  he  kindly 
offered  to  carry  her  child,  and  so  they  set  out. 

"They  had  not  gone  far  before  it  became 
apparent  that  her  strength  would  fail.  Here 
was  a  new  difficulty.  She  could  not  go  on, 
but  she  could  return  to  the  untenanted  hut 
and  wait  there  for  some  new  fortune,  if  any 
of  the  party  would  stay  with  with  her.  All 
were  anxious  to  go  on,  and  no  one  offered 
his  protection  but  the  boy,  and  so  they  turn- 
ed back  and  again  slowly  made  their  way 
to  the  hut.  The  fire  they  had  left  was  still 
smouldering  on  the  hearth,  and  the  addition 
of  such  sticks  as  the  boy  was  able  to  gather 
soon  created  an  agreeable  warmth.  Here 
they  might  be  protected  from  the  cold  of  a 
winter-day;  but  they  might  suffer  for  want 
of  food. 

"It  Avas  afrain  necf^ssa^'V  to  trust  in  Prov- 
idence.     The  house  had  the  appearance  of 


THE    WIDOWED   MOTHER.  147 

having   been   recently  deserted.     The   bov 
v>'as  prying  around  with  curious  eye  when 

tn  itT""'^  :^''  ""^  "'°"«'^'  »"  "Pining 
n   he  floor.     Raising  a  board  to  satisfy  him 

se  f,  he  found  a  small  cavity  in  the  ground 
below  which  had  been  used  for  a  cellar,  but 
he  saw  nothing  there  but  darkness.  He 
drew  a  burning  brand  from  the  fire  and 
thrustmg  It  down,  the  cellar  was  partially 
illummated,  and  to  his  great  joy  he  discov- 
ered a  small  heap  of  potatoes.  Drawing 
forth  a  handful,  although  they  were  partially 
trozen.  they  were  soon  roasting  in  the  fire 

"Another  difficulty  being  removed,   they 
resolved  to  stay  there  until  the  next  dav^ 
i  he  day  had  passed  away  and  they  had  se- 
cured the  door  as  well  as  they  were  able  for 
he  „,ght.     They  heard  every  whisper  of 
the  wind  as  it  frolicked  around  this  lonely 
tenement.     But  soon  they  were  startled  by 
a  sound  of  fear.     There  was  a  violent  rap- 
ping at  the  door,  and  they  heard  the  mutter- 
ing voices  of  Indians.     It  was  apparent  that 
It  they  were  not  admitted  the  door  would  be 
broken,  and  Clara  with  much  presence  of  mind 
openeu  it  and  by  a  sign  bade  them  enter. 


7 


148 


THE    WIDOWED    MOTHER. 


They  were  the  three  Indians  by  whom  she 
had  been  taken  captive,  but  they,  supposing 
her  to  be  the  occupant  of  the  house,  did  not 
know  her.  She  made  the  best  of  their  mis- 
take and  bade  the  boy  bring  forth  from  the 
cellar  some  potatoes  which  she  by  signs 
asked  them  to  roast  in  the  fire. 

*'Her  courage  and  strength  had  again  risen 
with  the  presence  of  danger.  It  was  soon 
.  apparent  that  the  Indian.?  intended  to  stay 
there  that  night,  and  Clara  wrapped  her 
child  in  a  blanket  and  laid  it  down  to  sleep 
with  an  appearance  of  unconcern. 

*'It  was  very  late  before  the  Indians  had 
all  fallen  asleep,  and  when  she  was  assured 
of  it,  Clara  again  made  a  sign  to  the  boy  to 
follow  her;  and  taking  her  child  and  a  single 
roasted  potatoe  which  the  Indians  had  left, 
for  her  food  by  the  way,  she  stole  cautiously 
out  of  the  house  and  took  the  path  that  led 
in  an  easterly  direction.  The  night  was 
chilly  but  not  dark,  and  they  were  to  follow 
the  track  on  which  they  had  set  out  the  day 
before. 

**A11  night  they  continued  their  march,  but 


Clara 


w 


,1 


r  V  w>  £^r9        ^% 


V\li  n.i-\y-l      ♦/ 


ao  DCFVcxai    uiixcD    vwiigcu,    tv  ►3i.v|-' 


r\    cit/w*    o 


nd 


THE    WIDOWED   MOTHER. 


149 


sit  down  upon  the  cold  ground,  and  some- 
times  even  in  the  snow  to  rest  her  weary 
limbs.     It  was  a  long  and  laborious  night. 
It   seemed   to  them    as   if  day-light  would 
never  come,  and  when  it  did  come  they  felt 
thankful  that  they  had  escaped  the  dangers 
of  the  night  with  lire.     Clara  had  become  so 
fatigued  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  her  to 
proceed  further,  and  she  had  again  sat  down 
to  rest.     As  the  boy  was  standing  by  her, 
he  thought  he  heard  the  sound  of  an  axe  at 
a  distance.     He  listened  again  and  again  till 
he  was  fully  assured,  when  at  the  request  of 
Clara  he  hasted  away  in  the  direction  of  the 
sound.     At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  he 
found  the  chopper  and  learning  from  him  that 
his  house  was  not  far  distant,  he  told  him 
of  his  perilous  adventures  with  that  young 
mother  and  her  child,  and  the  Woodman, 
moved  with  compassion  lor  her,  went  at  once 
to  her  relief.     She  was  carried  to  his  house, 
and  learning  from  him  that  there  was  little 
prospect  of  molestation  at  that  distance  from 
the  frontier,  she  consented  to  remain  there 
till  she  could  be  assured  she  could  return  to 
her  owG  home  in  safety." 

18* 


•IV' 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


PEACE  AGAIN. 


*'I  have  now  given  you  the  history  of  this 
fortress,"  said  the  Captain,  "as  far  as  I  am 
able.  I  know  of  nothing  else  of  much  impor- 
tance connected  with  it.  There  are  many 
personal  anecdotes  and  adventures,  that  are 
but  little  known,  and  probably  many  inter- 
esting ones  have  been  lost.  Nothing  is  now 
required  to  complete  this  history,  but  to  tell 
you  of  the  joy  that  was  felt  throughout  the 
country,  at  the  return  of  peace.  The  war 
had  been  kept  up  for  nearly  three  years  on 
this  frontier,  and  there  had  been  much  fight- 
ing here,  with  small  results  of  good  to  either 
side.  Many  were  distinguished  by  their 
heroic  valor,  and  had  gained  great  praise, 
and  some  had  lost  their  honor  but  more  had 
lost  their  friends.  Death  is  the  greatest 
warrior,  the  mightiest  conqueror.  All  other 
victories  are  as  nothing  compared  with  his. 
The  world  does  not  know  the  extent  of  his 


^t^mmm 


mm, 


PEACE    AGAIN. 


151 


conquests.  All  other  triumphs  are  overrated 
as  much  as  his  are  undervalued.  The  few 
whose  names  are  written  in  books  and  car- 
ved on  stone,  are  as  nothing  to  those  not 
found  there.  And  even  figures  and  tlie  pow- 
ers  of  enumeration,  can  scarcely  tell  the 
millions  that  have  lived  and  died." 

''The  fort  was  in  possession  of  the  English," 
said  Harry,  ^/after  the  surprise.  "When  was 
it  delivered  to  the  Americans?" 

''It  was  surrendered  to  us  soon  after  the 
peace,"   said  the  Captain,—"!  think  in  the 
month  of  March,  1815." 
^  -'And  it  has  been  in  our  possession  ever 
since,  I  suppose,"  said  Harry. 

"Yes,  for  we  have  been  at  peace.  A  gar- 
rison has  been  kept  up  here  most  of  the  time. 
Fort  George  was  suffered  to  go  to  decay, 
and  the  English  built  Fort  Mississaga  directly 
opposite.  That  is  in  a  better  position  to 
command  the  river." 

"There  must  be  some  jealousy,"  said  Har- 
ry, "between  the  two  nations,  that  they 
should  think  it  necessary  to  keep  up  these 
fortifications  to  watch  each  other  in  time  of 
peace." 


I 


1. 


1^ 


1 


15% 


PEACE    AGAIN'. 


"It  is  so,"  said  the  Captain;  *'but  nations 
act  on  the  principle  that  the  best  way  to 
preserve  peace  is  to  be  prepared  for  war. 
There  is  a  great  degree  of  good  feeling  pre- 
vailing on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Our  ves- 
sels freely  enter  it  and  go  up  to  Lewiston, 
while  the  British  vessels'  in  like  manner  go 
to  Queenston  on  the  opposite  side.  I  have 
often  thought,  when  looking  on  these  two 
forts  that  guard  the  entrance  to  the  beautiful 
Niagara,  pointing  their  guns  with  a  show  of 
defiance  out  upon  the  lake,  of  the  two  lions 
that  Christian  saw  guarding  the  narrow  en- 
trance to  the  Palace  Beautiful.  But  the  war 
spirits  are  now  chained,  as  were  the  lions  at 
the  Palace-gate." 

"O  I  rernember  the  story  in  ^Pilgrims  Pro- 
gress,'"said  Harry.  "Christian  was  going 
from  the  city  of  destruction  to  Mount  Zion, 
and,  being  belated  by  having  slept  by  the 
way,  he  was  obliged  to  stop  at  the  Palace 
for  the  night." 

"That  is  a  beautiful  story,"  said  the  Cap- 
tain. "We  are  all  pilgrims  in  this  world. 
You,  Harry,  have  hardly  begun  your  pil- 
ffrimaflre  yete" 


•stusm 


PEACE    AGAIN. 


153 


ic 


I  have  been  on  one  pilgrimage,"  said  Har- 
ry, ^'with  you  to  the  batile-field  of  Queeng- 
ton;  and  on  another  to  this  place." 

**This  will  soon  be  finished  "  said  the  Cap- 
tain, ^^and  you  will  be  ready  to  enter  upon 
another;  and  so  you  will  And  it  through  life. 
When  one  enterprise  is  accomplished,  or  has 
failed  when  undertaken,  another  is  sought 
for  and  followed  with  equal  avidity.  Man 
is  never  at  rest,  and  is  never  satisfied  with 
himself." 

These  thoughts  were  something  too  seri- 
ous for  the  mind  of  Harry,  yet  he  fell  into 
a  train  of  silent  reflection;  but  his  medita- 
tions were  soon  interrupted  by  the  voice  of 
the  Captain. 

^'It  is  now  past  twelve  o'clock,"  said  he, 
"and  we  must  set  out  for  home." 

They  again  and  for  the  last  time  entered 
the  old  stone  house.  The  Colonel  had  not 
yet  returned,  and  the  Captain  and  Harry, 
after  presenting  their  thanks  to  his  family 
for  the  kindness  with  which  they  had  been 
entertained,  took  leave  of  them  and  of  the 
old  fortress. 


TK. 


U. 


not 


wisn  to  ioiiow  the   same 


route  home  by  which  they  had  come.     They 


154 


PEACE    AGAIN. 


passed  out  at  the  eastern  gate  of  the  fort 
and  steered  across  the  plain.  As  they  went 
they  turned  back  occasionally  to  take  a  look 
at  the  fort,  and  to  consider  the  position  an 
army  might  be  in  when  making  an  attack. 
They  soon  struck  into  the  woods  in  the  rear 
of  the  plain,  and  the  trees  not  being  so  thick 
as  to  form  any  great  obstruction  to  their 
travelling,  they  entered  them,  and  soon  came 
out  to  a  road,  and  they  thought  they  would 
follow  it  a  short  distance,  lead  where  it 
would.  It  gradually  bore  round  to  the  Mt^ 
till  they  came  in  sight  of  a  farm  house 
to  which  they  made  their  way.  When  they 
reached  it  they  saw  from  its  slightly  eleva- 
ted position  the  beautiful  waters  of  Lake 
Ontario. 

While  they  were  taking  a  survey  of  the 
prospect,  the  farmer  appeared  at  the  door 
and  they  recognized  in  him  the  wagoner 
with  whom  they  had  met  in  the  morning. 
On  learning  from  the  Captain  that  they  had 
spent  the  whole  day  at  the  fort,  studying  its 
position  and  the  various  places  around  it,  he 
looked  at  them  with  a  vacant  stare,  as  if  he 
wondered  of  what  use  that  could  be.     The 


s£  Hi 


PEACE   AGAIN. 


155r 


location  of  his  farm  and  buildings  was  one 
of  unusual  beauty,  though  he  did  not  seem 
to  value  it  so  much  for  that  as  for  the  acres 
it  contained. 

Our  travellers  had  come  a  little  out  of  their 
way,  but  they  did  not  grudge  the  time  and 
travel,  as  it  enabled  them  to  take  a  new  and 
interesting  view  of  the  lake.  Making  their 
bow  to  the  wagoner,  they  retraced  their 
steps,  by  the  same  road  they  had  come,  till 
it  seemed  to  deviate  too  much  from'  the 
course  they  wished  to  pursue.  They  then 
left  it  and  followed  on,  sometimes  through 
fields  and  sometimes  by  roads,  thinking  of 
nothing  but  how  they  should  soonest  reach 
home. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  they  ar- 
rived, and  they  found  the  family  of  the  Cap- 
tain seated  around  their  evening  fire.  They 
had  not  expected  his  return  that  night,  and 
were  taken  completely  by  surprise.  There 
was  the  old  fashioned  hearth,  the  fire  blazing 
bright  and  warm  upon  its  naturally  rough, 
but  now  smoothly  worn  stones.  They  had 
not  set  up,  like  the  ancient  Romans,  images 
of  wood  and  stopfi.  Knf  tho  frr^ci^d  ^f  u 


hold  gods,  happiness,  was  there. 


use- 


11 


( 


156 


PEACE    AGAIN. 


ir. 
m 


If  the  readers  of  this  little  book  could  have 
looked  in  at  that  time  upon  the  family  of 
Captain  Gray,  they  would  have  seen  a  pic- 
ture of  as  much  enjoyment  as  it  vv^ould  be 
easy  to  find  in  this  world.  The  old  Captain 
had  passed  through  the  war  which  had  again 
secured  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  he 
was  at  peace  with  all  the  world.  With  his 
wife,  the  companion  of  his  youth,  the  domes- 
tic virtues  had  found  a  home.  All  who  came 
to  his  house,  like  his  young  friend  Harry, 
found  a  hearty  welcome. 

The  Captain  had  decided  that  their  next 
journey  should  be  to  Fort  Erie,  but  before 
that  was  to  be  undertaken,  he  must,  for  a 
few  days,  attend  to  some  matters  of  business 
about  his  neighborhood,  and  in  the  meantime 
Harry  West  could  amuse  himself  with  re- 
peating 4he  stories  of  Niagara  to  Alice  and 
Lucy  Gray.  The  evening  fire  was  now 
smouldering  away,  and  their  drowsy  lids  in- 
viting them  to  sleep,  they  all  retired  to  rest. 


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